Two earthquakes rattled Batangas Saturday afternoon - the second registering at magnitude 6.0 - in the same area struck last April 4 by a quake that caused residents to flee their homes. The first magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck at 3:07 p.m. and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.0 quake at 3:09 p.m., with the epicenter in Mabini, Batangas.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Sun-Star. </s> (Updated, 4:09 p.m.) Subsequent earthquakes were felt in parts of Luzon on Saturday afternoon.

A 5.7-magnitude earthquake east northeast of Mabini, Batangas was felt in neighboring provinces and as far as Metro Manila shortly after 3 p.m. It was followed closely by a 5.9-magnitude quake south southwest of Tanauan, Batangas, and then by a 5.0-magnitude quake west northwest of Taysan, Batangas, the United States Geological Services (USGS) said.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) pegged the Mabini, Batangas at magnitude 5.6 with a depth of 4 kilometers.

Inquirer staff reported they felt a shaking of the ground in Sta. Mesa, Manila, Sto. Tomas, Batangas, Subic Bay, Zambales, Makati City and Mandaluyong City. </s> STRONG TREMORS. Twin earthquakes strike Batangas on April 8, 2017. Photo courtesy of Ryan Valle

MANILA, Philippines (7th UPDATE) – Twin earthquakes rocked Metro Manila and nearby provinces on Saturday afternoon, April 8.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said a magnitude 5.6 quake first struck at 3:07 pm, off Mabini, Batangas. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) put it at 5.7.

Epicenter of first earthquake. Image courtesy of Phivolcs

The first quake was then followed by a magnitude 6.0 tremor at 3:09 pm, also in the same area, according to Phivolcs. USGS earlier said this tremor had a magnitude of 5.9.

Epicenter of second earthquake. Image courtesy of Phivolcs

The recorded intensities for the two quakes are exactly the same.

Intensity VII – Mabini, Batangas

Intensity VI – Calatagan, Nasugbu, and Tingloy, Batangas

Intensity V – Batangas City, Sto Tomas, and Lemery, Batangas; Tagaytay City

Intensity IV – Dasmariñas, Cavite: Lucena City; Pateros City

Intensity III – Makati City; Pasay City; Quezon City; Muntinlupa City; Malabon City; Mandaluyong City; Bacoor, Cavite

Intensity II – Daet, Camarines Norte

Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum told Rappler in a phone interview that there is nothing unusual about earthquakes occurring just a minute apart in the same area.

Solidum added that the twin tremors are related to the magnitude 5.5 earthquake that hit Batangas last Tuesday, April 4. There were no casualties during the Tuesday quake but structures, including the Batangas Provincial Capitol building, were damaged.

Aftershocks have also begun following Saturday's twin tremors, including a magnitude 4.1 quake that hit 3:29 pm and a magnitude 4.7 quake at 4:36 pm.

Stronger tremors

In an interview with dzMM, Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas said more people in the province feared Saturday's quakes as these were stronger than the one they experienced last Tuesday.

He added that Batangas City has no power supply. (READ: Batangas residents flee for safety after twin quakes)

"Mas malakas talaga. At ngayon, walang kuryente sa Batangas City. Noon hindi. Mas marami ngayon ang medyo kinakabahan pa," Mandanas said.

(It's really stronger. And now, there's no electricity in Batangas City. This didn't happen the last time. More people are scared now.)

Mandanas said based on initial reports, there were no reported injuries in his province as of early Saturday afternoon. (LOOK: IN PHOTOS: #QuakePH causes panic, damage in Batangas resort)

Meanwhile, the quakes prompted a few schools to suspend classes for Saturday.

Don't share unverified info

Malacañang urged the public to "stay calm and yet remain vigilant and alert" following the quakes.

"Let us not forward information from unverified sources that may cause undue alarm. Disaster officials are assessing the situation and will be giving updates to the public as more information… becomes available," Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a statement on Saturday.

Solidum also corrected wrong reports circulating online that have caused panic in areas hit by the strong quakes on Saturday. (READ: Batangas residents flee to safety after twin quakes)

Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said in a statement that it is in close coordination with its field offices and concerned local governments for "possible augmentation support and assistance" following the quakes.

"Currently, the Department is now under blue alert status. However, there is already a recommendation to elevate the alert status to red because of the gravity of the impact of the earthquake in several [structures] and facilities, including hospitals such as the Batangas Medical Center and Taal Hospital," the DSWD said.

It added that it sent on Saturday 50 tents from the DSWD National Resource Operations Center (NROC) for distribution to the families who conducted preemptive evacuation, and bottles of water and blankets. – Rappler.com </s> (UPDATED) The quake is also felt in various parts of Metro Manila and nearby provinces

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – A magnitude 5.5 earthquake rocked Batangas Tuesday night, April 4, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

The epicenter of the quake, which struck at 8:58 pm, was located in Tingloy, Batangas, at a depth of 5 kilometers.

In an earlier bulletin issued several minutes after the quake, Phivolcs measured the quake at magnitude 5.4. The US Geological Survey, meanwhile, measured it at magnitude 5.2.

The quake was felt in various parts of Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Intensity V was felt in Malvar and Calatagan in Batangas, while Intensity IV was felt in Makati City; Obando, Bulacan; Imus, Cavite; Indang, Cavite; Calamba, Laguna; Sta. Ana, Manila; Valenzuela City; and Tagaytay City.

The quake was also felt in Mandaluyong City, Quezon City, Pasay City, Lucena City, and General Trias and Dasmariñas in Cavite at Intensity III.

Intensity II was felt in Talisay, Batangas; and Abra De Ilog, Occidental Mindoro.

Phivolcs reported no damage resulting from the quake, but said in its bulletin that aftershocks were expected.

A series of aftershocks were recorded several hours after the initial quake. – Rappler.com </s> DUBAI – A magnitude 5.4 earthquake shook Batangas province and other areas on Tuesday, 4:58 p.m, UAE time.

According to media reports in the Philippines, the epicenter of the earthquake was located seven kilometers northwest of Tingloy town, Batangas.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported that the quake was felt as Intenstiy 4 in Makati City and Obando, Bulacan, and Intensity 3 in Mandaluyong City, Quezon City, General Trias and Dasmarinas in Cavite, Santa Ana in Manila and in Lucena City in Quezon.

It was felt as Intensity 2 in Talisay, Batangas and Pasig.

The earthquake was labeled as “moderately strong.”

The label can be felt like the passing of a heavy track and can rattle wood-framed building.

The agency said in a news.abs-cbn.com report that no major damage was expected from the earthquake, however, they warned of aftershocks.

Few more minutes after the earthquake, a magnitude 4.6 was recorded in the same area.

The earthquake, according to the agency, will not cause a tsunami. </s> A magnitude 5.4 earthquake hit Southern Tagalog and some Metro Manila areas at 8:58 p.m. Tuesday, April 4, state volcanologist said. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology reported on its website that the earthquake's epicenter was determined at northwest of Tingloy town in Batangas, with a depth of three kilometers.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Sun-Star. </s> A series of tremors that hit Batangas on Saturday afternoon, with magnitudes between 5 to 6, were apparently part of an “earthquake swarm,” which had been going on since since Tuesday evening, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

The first tectonic earthquakes on Saturday hit only minutes apart, at 3:07 p.m. and at 3:09 p.m., and were felt as one long earthquake – lasting from 10 to 15 seconds – in affected areas.

Two other earthquakes originating from around the same epicenter was recorded at 3:53 p.m. and 3:59 p.m.

The first two of the land-based Saturday quakes, originating in the vicinity of Mabini town, were both stronger than the 5.5-magnitude temblor originating near the island of Tingloy, Batangas on Tuesday, with the first Mabini quake having a magnitude of 5.6, and the second reaching magnitude 6.

The third moderately-sized earthquake in Batangas on Saturday was of magnitude 5.1 and the fourth, magnitude 5.3.

Based on the Phivolcs earthquake bulletins by 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, the first earthquake’s epicenter was located 1 kilometer southwest of Mabini, Batangas, with a depth of focus of 27 kilometers. The second had an epicenter 12 kilometers northwest of Mabini, with a depth of 24 kilometers.

The consecutive earthquakes were felt at varying intensities in the following areas;
• Intensity V in Batangas City, Santo Tomas, Lemery in Batangas and in Tagaytay City, Cavite
• Intensity IV in Dasmarinas, Cavite; Lucena City in Quezon; and Pateros City in Metro Manila
• Intensity III in Makati, Pasay, Quezon, Muntinlupa, Malabon, and Mandaluyong in Metro Manila; and in Bacoor, Cavite

According to reports reaching Phivolcs, the effects of the quakes were felt even in Olongapo in Central Luzon.

“There is no danger of tsunami, but with Intensity VII, we expect damage,” Phivolcs supervising science research speciality Jeffrey Perez said, in an interview

Saturday’s quakes, he added, could worsen the damage wrought by the Tuesday temblor.

As of this writing, no reports of liquefaction or ground ruptures have come in.

Perez attributed the quakes with similar magnitudes to the movement of active local faults in Mabini, Batangas.

“We’re looking at this as a series of earthquakes since Tuesday,” Perez said.

He describe an earthquake swarm as a series of moderately-sized earthquakes in the same area over a certain period of time.

“It’s like there were big boulders that have moved, and until now are still moving, trying to return to a stable state,” Perez explained.

He said that, since the Tuesday evening temblor, 991 aftershocks had already been recorded as of 3:00 p.m on Saturday, with 21 being felt.

These, too, were part of the earthquake swarm, he said.

The Phivolcs expected further aftershocks, but it could not say definitely whether the next quakes would be stronger or weaker.

Though the Mabini fault was far from and had no effect on Metro Manila’s faultlines.

“It’s a warning that we really need to prepare, if we’re affected even by faults that are far from us,” Perez said. “The whole country has a lot of local faults that generate moderate to strong earthquakes. Each province has their own ‘Big One’.” /atm </s> A 5.4 magnitude earthquake shook Metro Manila and some parts of Southern Tagalog, seismologists said Tuesday night.

The offshore quake, with a shallow depth of three kilometers, centered seven kilometers northwest of Tingloy, Batangas.

It struck at 8:58 p.m., the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.

The tremor was felt at Intensity IV in Makati City and in Obando, Bulacan.

Intensity III was felt in Mandaluyong City, Quezon City, Sta. Ana, Manila, in Lucena City in Quezon province and the Cavite towns of General Trias and Dasmariñas.

Intensity II was felt in Pasig City and Talisay, Batangas.

The Philippines sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where continental plates collide causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity. </s> A 5.4-magnitude earthquake hit Luzon on Tuesday evening, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

An earthquake bulletin issued by the agency said the quake, with an epicenter 7 kilometers northwest of Batangas, was felt in different parts of Luzon at 8:58 p.m.

The quake, which was tectonic in origin, was felt at Intensity IV in Makati City and Obando, Bulacan.

It was felt at Intensity III in Mandaluyong City, Quezon City, Santa Ana in Manila, General Trias and Dasmariñas in Cavite.

Meanwhile, Pasig City and Talisay, Batangas felt the quake at Intensity II.

The Phivolcs report said it is not expecting damage although aftershocks may be felt.

Minutes before the Phivolcs issued its bulletin, netizens posted on social media that they felt a strong earthquake, which lasted for several seconds.
Two earthquakes, with magnitudes of 5.6 and 6.0 and related to the April 4 magnitude 5.5 earthquake, hits Batangas, and are felt as far as Metro Manila (Rappler)