Magnitude 6.5 quake in Masbate caused by movement of Philippines fault zone — Phivolcs

“Pagkilos po ng Philippine fault zone. Ito po ‘yung Masbate segment,” Phivolcs chief Renato Solidum said over ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo when asked for the origin of the strong quake.

(It’s because of the movement of the Philippine fault zone. This is the Masbate segment.)

Information from Phivolcs showed that the earthquake struck five kilometers southwest of Cataingan town at 8:03 a.m. Intensity IV was recorded in Mapanas, Northern Samar; Legazpi City, Albay; and Lezo, Aklan, while intensities were also reported in other nearby areas.

“Ang epicenter po ng lindol ay Cataingan, Masbate. Ito po ay kumikilos in the past few days,” Solidum said.

(The epicenter of the quake is in Cataingan. The fault in the area has been moving in the past few days.)

“Kung matatandaan nyo in the early 2000s, nagkaroon din ng magnitude 6 plus dyan sa northern segment ng fault sa Masbate province, at itong Cataingan area ay part ng epicenter in the past days na maliliit,” he added.

(If you can remember in the early 2000s, there was also a magnitude six plus earthquake in the northern segment of the fault in Masbate. Cataingan is part of the epicenter of smaller earthquakes in the past days.)

According to Phivolcs’ website, the 1,200-kilometers-long Philippine fault zone is a major tectonic feature that transects the whole Philippine archipelago from northwestern Luzon to southeastern Mindanao.

This arc-parallel, left-lateral strike slip fault is divided into several segments and has been the source of strong earthquakes in the recent years, such as the 1973 Ragay Gulf earthquake (M 7.0), 1990 Luzon earthquake (Mw 7.7) (Figure 1), and 2003 Masbate earthquake (Ms 6.2), according to the agency.

Solidum said Phivolcs is not discounting the possibility that there could be a stronger earthquake in Masbate but added that the succeeding earthquakes or aftershocks will most likely be weaker.