A magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit North Cotabato anew at 9:11 a.m. Thursday.
Based on the coordinates given by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) in its Earthquake Information No. 2—06.90°N, 125.07°E – 028 km N 78° E of Tulunan (Cotabato)— the epicenter would be somewhere in the municipality of Makilala in North Cotabato, in an uninhabited portion about seven kilometers south-southwest of the poblacion area.
Makilala is adjacent to Tulunan, site of two previous strong earthquakes this month, the last one only two days ago.
PHIVOLCS said it was of tectonic origin, with depth of focus only six kilometers underground. It said it was expecting damage and aftershocks.
The quake was felt as Intensity VII in Tulunan and Kidapawan; and in Sta. Cruz, Matanao, Bansalan and Magsaysay in Davao del Sur. It was at Intensity VI in Tampakan, South Cotabato; Intensity V in General Santos City, Tupi, South Cotabato and Isulan, Sultan Kudarat; and as Intensity IV in Lebak, Sultan Kudarat.
PHIVOLCS’s first dispatch on the quake pegged the location at 07.00°N, 125.09°E – 033 km N 61° E of Tulunan (Cotabato), or in the poblacion area of provincial capital Kidapawan City.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS, the agency tracking earthquakes worldwide), meanwhile, first identified the location at 7.100°N 125.300°E, or on the western edge of Davao City north of Mt. Apo. It later altered the location to 6.926°N 125.241°E, or on the northern part of the municipality of Bansalan in Davao del Sur. (MindaNews)
