Series of quakes jolt Lanao Sur, Bukidnon towns

FILE: Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) (Photo: Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS-DOST)/Facebook)

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — An earthquake jolted parts of Bukidnon and Lanao del Sur early Sunday morning (September 24), the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology-10 (Phivolcs-10) said.

Lanao del Sur experienced a series of seismic activities starting at 1:48 a.m. Sunday with 4.2-magnitude, according to a Phivolcs-10 update.

At 4:47 a.m., an earthquake in Wao was recorded at magnitude 5.4. By 5:17 a.m., the magnitude was recorded at 4.3; 5:25 a.m., at 3.8; 6:33 a.m., at 3.3; 7:56 a.m., at 3.2; 10:32 a.m., at 3.0; and as of 10:39 a.m. at 4.0.

Phivolcs-10 reported that Kalilangan, a nearby town in Bukidnon, felt an Intensity 6 following the earthquake in Wao. Kalilangan is about 18.4 kilometers from Wao.

On the Wao, Lanao del Sur verified Facebook page, photos of a house slightly damaged by the earthquake were posted.

Photos showed a broken wall, a cracked post, and a busted television set. As of this posting, it was yet to be determined if the damage on said house was caused by the earthquake.

Meanwhile, Cagayan de Oro residents also felt Intensity 1 earthquake at around 10:39 Sunday morning, said Marcial Labininay, Phivolcs-10 regional director, though the agency’s website reported that it was an Intensity 3 earthquake.

Except for Bukidnon and this city, other parts of Northern Mindanao were unaffected by the tremor, Labininay said.

Mae Acantilado, a resident of Barangay Macabalan, said she and her family were suddenly roused from sleep when the two-story house they were renting was rocked by a tremor at about 4:00 in the morning.

“We were scared. Unlike other earthquakes we have experienced in the past, this one was stronger,” she said.

Labininay said aftershocks were experienced as the earthquake had a depth of only 2 kilometers.

It can be recalled that Wao had declared a state of calamity on April 12 when a magnitude 6 rocked the town affecting 14 villages and displacing at least 1,000 families. Damage from that temblor was estimated at around PHP25 million. (PNA/Jigger J. Jerusalem)