A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck Quezon province on Tuesday noon and was felt in parts of Metro Manila and nearby areas, where people scurried out of some government buildings.
The tectonic tremor hit 24 kilometers northwest of General Nakar. It had a depth of 10 kilometers, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.
Phivolcs initially reported the quake’s magnitude at 5.6.
At the Senate, a hearing of the Committee on Public Services chaired by Sen. Raffy Tulfo was suspended abruptly because of the quake and subsequent evacuation.
The quake prompted evacuations at other buildings in Metro Manila, including the Palace, Senate, House of Representatives, National Bureau of Investigation, Commission on Elections, and Department of Migrant Workers premises.
“Umuga ‘yung upuan namin. Para kaming itinulak… Hindi naman ganoon kalakas,” said Rommel Asuncion, who was in an office at the third floor of the House of Representatives main building during the earthquake.
Cheng Cruz, another House employee, said she thought she was just having a vertigo attack when the earthquake happened.
“May kaunting hilo lang,” she said.
The LRT-1, LRT-2, and MRT-3 briefly paused their services due to the quake.
“For the moment, we are expecting damage and expecting aftershocks,” Phivolcs Director Teresito Bacolcol told TeleRadyo Serbisyo.
Phivolcs said the quake was felt at the following intensities.
Intensity 4 – Makati, Manila, Marikina in NCR; San Pedro, Laguna; Tanay, Rizal
Intensity 3 – Navotas, Quezon City, Pasay, San Juan, Taguig; Guiguinto and Malolos in Bulacan; Palayan, Nueva Ecija; Mabalacat City, Pampanga; Angeles City; Biñan, Laguna
Intensity 2 – Caloocan, Mandaluyong, Paranaque, Valenzuela City; Obando, Bulacan; Cabiao, Nueva Ecija
Quakes are a daily occurrence in the Philippines, which sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of intense seismic and volcanic activity that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
Most are too weak to be felt by humans, but strong and destructive quakes come at random with no technology available to predict when and where they will happen.
