The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported minor damages in Lubang, Occidental Mindoro after a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the island province Monday morning, March 14.
The NDRRMC National Operations Center said that assessment was on-going “to determine the extent of the damages” caused by the earthquake which struck 77 degrees west of Lubang Island at 5:05 a.m.
Engineer Jeremy Villas, chief of the Lubang Island municipal DRRM office (MDRRMO), said that at least three houses were damaged in one barangay that he inspected.
“Sa Barangay Vigo, mayroon silang dalawang bahay na may minor damage. ‘Yung tiles po na anim na piraso ay umangat at ‘yung partition wall umangat. Mayroon din isang bahay na may minor cracks sa biga (In Barangay Vigo, there were two houses that sustained minor damage. In one house, six pieces of tiles were elevated while on the other one, the partition wall also raised. There was also one house that had minor cracks in its beam),” Villas said in a radio interview over dzBB.
“Sa tingin po namin, madadagdagan pa kasi on-going pa rin ang pagiikot sa mga barangay (We think that more damages will be reported because the assessment in barangays are still on-going),” he added.
Villas said the quake was moderately strong and felt for around 10 to 15 seconds.
“Ako personally, natutulog po kasi ako at ako ay nagising pati ang aking pamilya so medyo malakas. Base sa aming pagtatanong, medyo malakas. ‘Yung iba nakaramdam ng pagkahilo, ‘yung ibang gamit nila gumalaw (Personally, I was sleeping along with my family so we were awaken , it was slightly strong. Based on our inquiry, it was moderately strong. Some people felt dizzy, and their things were shook),” he narrated.
Despite this, no tsunami warning was issued by the municipal government of Lubang Island after the quake.
“Wala naman po, ‘yan ang una naming inalam. Awa ng Diyos, walang pagbabago sa galaw ng tubig (There was no , that was the first thing that we inquired about. By the mercy of the Lord, there was no change in the movement of the water),” Villas said.
No major damage was also reported in any government facility or infrastructure.
All highways and major thoroughfares were also deemed passable to motorists.
The MDRRMO official advised residents in the affected barangays to stay vigilant and watch out for possible aftershocks.