By Ellalyn De Vera-Ruiz
The moderately strong 5.5-magnitude earthquake that struck Mindoro island last Saturday has triggered a succession of at least 400 small- to moderate-sized tremors in the Southern Tagalog region.
(PIXABAY / MANILA BULLETIN)
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said 423 aftershocks were so far recorded.
Last Saturday, the earthquake was felt as a strong shaking at Intensity 5 near the epicenter traced to Rizal, Occidental Mindoro.
Phivolcs said the epicenters or origins of the main earthquake and its aftershocks were clustered within the seismically active region known as the Palawan-Mindoro-Panay collision zone.
In this area, it explained that the Palawan microcontinental block collides with the Philippine Mobile Belt, a zone of complex deformation and active seismicity.
Due to this collision zone, earthquakes occur in this region.
“People in the area should take preparedness measures and be guided by verified information,” Phivolcs advised.
Meanwhile, Phivolcs has already recorded 1,053 aftershocks from the 6.1-magnitude earthquake in Central Luzon last April 22.
It pointed out that the probability of an aftershock higher than 6.1-magnitude to occur from the same source, which is a local fault in Zambales, was low.
The number of aftershocks was also expected to decrease over time.
Read more: Magnitude 5.5 quake jolts Occidental Mindoro
(PIXABAY / MANILA BULLETIN)
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said 423 aftershocks were so far recorded.
Last Saturday, the earthquake was felt as a strong shaking at Intensity 5 near the epicenter traced to Rizal, Occidental Mindoro.
Phivolcs said the epicenters or origins of the main earthquake and its aftershocks were clustered within the seismically active region known as the Palawan-Mindoro-Panay collision zone.
In this area, it explained that the Palawan microcontinental block collides with the Philippine Mobile Belt, a zone of complex deformation and active seismicity.
Due to this collision zone, earthquakes occur in this region.
“People in the area should take preparedness measures and be guided by verified information,” Phivolcs advised.
Meanwhile, Phivolcs has already recorded 1,053 aftershocks from the 6.1-magnitude earthquake in Central Luzon last April 22.
It pointed out that the probability of an aftershock higher than 6.1-magnitude to occur from the same source, which is a local fault in Zambales, was low.
The number of aftershocks was also expected to decrease over time.
Read more: Magnitude 5.5 quake jolts Occidental Mindoro