Quake jolts parts of Luzon including Metro Manila

MANILA — A magnitude-5.7 earthquake occurred on Wednesday evening that was felt in the province of Batangas and Puerto Galera, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

In its bulletin, the agency said the tremor occurred at 7:52 p.m. with its epicenter traced 22 kilometers southwest of Calatagan in Batangas.

Phivolcs said the temblor, which was of tectonic in origin, had a shallow depth of 36 kilometers.

In an interview, Dr. Renato Solidum, chief of Phivolcs, said the quake also jolted Malolos, Bulacan; Mabini, Batangas; Tagaytay City, Malabon City and Mandaluyong City with Intensity 4; while Intensity 3 was felt in Quezon City.

However, he said he still cannot tell the exact places since they are still waiting for the information that will come from the seismic monitoring stations.

“Hindi pa agad natin mapi-pinpont itong mga lugar na ito dahil mabubuo lang natin iyong complete list ng mga lugar na nakaramdaman ng malalakas na pagyanig kapag naibato na ng mga seismic stations iyong information sa central operating station ng Phivolcs sa Quezon City,” he noted.

Solidum said it is possible that the movement of the Lubang Fault caused the quake.

Despite of the felt intensity, Solidum told the Philippines News Agency that there was no casualty or damage reported from the quake.

He noted people in the affected areas may expect aftershocks.