ZAMBOANGA CITY – Officials called off afternoon classes here and other parts of the Zamboanga Peninsula after a magnitude-6.1 earthquake rocked Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte before noon on Thursday, Jan. 23.
The earthquake was felt at magnitude-5.4 here and sent students and people out of buildings and into a mild panic.
Engr. Allan Rommel Labayog, Philippine Volcanology and Seismology regional field officer, said the earthquake’s epicenter was two kilometers southeast of Siocon and had a depth of depth of 32 kilometers.
The earthquake was triggered by a tectonic movement and was also felt in Basilan and other cities and municipalities in the Zamboanga Peninsula.
Labayog said the quake was considered strong since it forced people to leave their buildings.