Easy does it: Motorists driving past cracked pavement on a highway in Liloan town, Southern Leyte province, after the quake hit the province. — AFP
Two earthquakes jolted the country several hours apart, authorities said, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or major damage.
A magnitude 5.8 quake occurred off the town of San Francisco in Southern Leyte province in the central region of Visayas yesterday morning, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake followed four hours later that hit Siocon town in the southern Mindanao region.
The agency had recorded at least 68 aftershocks from the Visayas tremor.
There were no immediate reports of injuries from either tremor.
San Francisco police chief Barnie Catig said the earthquake in the Philippine town was brief but strong.
“Some of the picture frames in our shelves fell off,” Catig said by phone.
No one was reported to be injured but at least 18 houses and government buildings had minor damage, Catig said.
At least one highway had sustained fissures from the tremor but remained passable, he said.
“We’re still conducting a full assessment,” Catig said.
Earthquakes are common in the Philippines, which is located in the Pacific Ocean’s “Ring of Fire”, where volcanic activity and earthquakes frequently occur. — Reuters