6.2 magnitude earthquake jolts Philippines

World Sunday 29/September/2019 11:48 AM
By: Times News Service
6.2 magnitude earthquake jolts Philippines

Manila: A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the province of Davao Occidental in the southern Philippines on Sunday morning, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

A strong earthquake has struck off the Celebes Sea, in south-eastern Philippines, about 175k m from South Cotabato Province early on Sunday at 6.02 am local time.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage but several aftershocks were felt, Phivolcs said in its advisory.

The epicentre was 126 km southeast of Jose Abad Santos town.

Strong tremors were felt in General Santos City as well as Digos City, Davao Del Sur. People went out on the streets after they felt their buildings shaking.

The Philippines is part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire", an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches from quake-prone Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

The quake, with epicenter latitude / longitude: 5.75°N / 126.57°E (Philippines), had an estimated energy of 42,502 tons of TNT (equivalent to 2.7 atomic bombs)

The nearest known volcano is Mt Balut, about 138 km from the epicentre.

The estimated released energy: 1.8*10^14 J (49.4 GWh / 42502 tons of TNT / 2.7 atomic bombs equivalent).