A USGS ‘shakemap’ of the magnitude-5.9 earthquake in the Philippines on Dec. 5. - Phopto from USGS via Bloomberg
MANILA (Bloomberg): A magnitude-5.9 earthquake struck south of the Philippine capital, prompting evacuations and halting trains in Manila.
The epicenter of the tectonic quake, which hit around 4:24pm local time, was located east of Occidental Mindoro province, according to the South-East Asian nation’s seismology institute.
Aftershocks are expected, but the quake likely didn’t cause damage, it said.
Workers evacuated the legislative buildings in Manila, according to ABS-CBN posts on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. The Transport Department halted the operations of all trains in the elevated rail system in the capital, the agency said on X.
Images shared by local media on X showed government workers leaving senate, presidential palace, justice ministry buildings. Students also vacated universities.
A powerful quake also rocked southern Philippines over the weekend, affecting more than 2,600 individuals.
The Philippines' seismology agency said on X social media platform that it did not expect damage, but warned of aftershocks. It recorded the earthquake at magnitude 5.9, with a depth of 79 kilometres (49.09 miles).
The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre had earlier recorded the quake at magnitude 6.2 before downgrading to 6.0.
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