Earthquake Rattles Mindanao Anew, 2nd In Two Days

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 16 Jan) – A moderate earthquake measuring 4.7 magnitude in the Richter scale was reported Tuesday off Mindanao island, the second to hit the southern Philippines in just two days.

The temblor, which occurred at around 04:36:14.4 UTC (12:36 2007 local time), was traced at 6 km east of Cortez and 16 km north of Tandag towns in Surigao del Sur province, according to a report by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre.

It was also felt in Butuan City in Agusan del Norte province, about 84 km northeast of Surigao. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage to small buildings or structures, but the earthquake was the second to rattle Mindanao.

A 4.9 magnitude earthquake also struck the southern port city of General Santos on Sunday.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the tremor was traced 212 miles (341 km) southeast of General Santos and was also felt in the cities of Davao and Cotabato.

The areas have been struck by sporadic tremors since November last year and had caused tsunami scares.

On Saturday, small tsunami waves hit northern and eastern Japan after a powerful earthquake in the Pacific.

The USGS said the quake’s magnitude was recorded at 8.2 in the Richter scale and was located in the northern Pacific, 525 km (325 miles) east northeast of Kurilsk, Kurile Islands, and 1,710 km (1,065 miles) northeast of Tokyo.

Tsunami warnings were also prompted in the Philippines, Russia and as far as Alaska, including Guam and Taiwan.

A 40-cm (16-inch) wave was reported at Chichijima in the Ogasawara islands, some 1,200 km (750 miles) south of Tokyo, and several smaller waves on Hokkaido and northern Japan, but there were no reports of injuries and no immediate reports of damage.

Filipino seismologists said the Philippines lies in the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," where tremors, some caused by volcanic activity, are common.

In March last year, fears of undersea volcanic eruptions and threats of deadly tsunamis have triggered an exodus of people in many coastal towns in the southern Philippine province of Surigao del Norte.

Tsunami is series of catastrophic ocean waves generated by submarine movements, which may be caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, or undersea landslides.

Tsunamis usually occur in the Pacific Ocean following earthquakes over magnitude 6.5 on the Richter scale. On August 16, 1976, a tsunami generated by a quake in Mindanao killed more than 10,000 people in the Moro Gulf region -- coastal communities in the Sulu archipelago, Zamboanga Peninsula, Lanao provinces, North Cotabato, Maguindanao, and Sultan Kudarat provinces. (Mindanao Examiner)