BUTUAN CITY – A magnitude-4.9 earthquake jolted Sarangani before dawn on Wednesday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.
Phivolcs said the earthquake was recorded at 1:03 a.m. and its epicenter was plotted 40 kilometers west of Kiamba, Sarangani.
The tremor had a shallow depth of three kms, Phivolcs added.
It was felt at Intensity IV in T'boli, South Cotabato; Intensity III in Maitum and Malapatan, Sarangani, and Tupi, South Cotabato; Intensity II in Lake Sebu and Tampakan, South Cotabato, and General Santos City, and Intensity I in Maasim, Sarangani.
Phivolcs instruments detected the quake at Intensity IV in Kiamba and T'boli; Intensity III in Don Marcelino, Davao Occidental; Maitum, Banga, South Cotabato; Koronadal City, Lake Sebu, Surallah, South Cotabato; Tupi, and Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat; Intensity II in Alamada, Cotabato; Norala and Tampakan, South Cotabato, General Santos City, Isulan and President Quirino, Sultan Kudarat; and Intensity I in Glan, Sarangani, Maasim, Tantangan, South Cotabato; and Bagumbayan and Kalamansig, Sultan Kudarat.
Phivolcs does not expect any damage but sees aftershocks from this tectonic earthquake.
The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Southern Mindanao and Sarangani Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) reported no damage or injuries.
More than an hour later at 2:22 a.m., a magnitude-4.5 earthquake occurred and its epicenter was located 55 kms southwest of Kiamba with a depth of 15 kms.
It was also tectonic in origin, caused by the movement of an active fault in the area.