EARTHQUAKE IN PHIlIPINE

Earthquake overview : Only a few days after the massive M7.6 earthquake off
the coast of the Philippine Islands, another very shallow earthquake occurred in
Central Mindanao.

Very Important update September 4 – 21:17 UTC

The Philippines Information Agency wrote on September 4 :

The quake caused landslips in five barangays namely, Mt. Nebo, Lilingayon,
Guinoyuran, Lourdes and Tugaya, all in Valencia City.
Alejandro Larosa, executive director of Valencia City Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management Council (CDRRMC) reported that based on the rapid damage assessment
and needs analysis conducted before 12 noon of September 4, the quake left one
person injured and a total of 143 houses destroyed.
It was explained that though the quake was centered in Maramag, the
neighboring city of Valencia was worst hit due to its soft and humid soil
texture having vast ricefields and fishponds.
This earthquake had no relation with the M7.6 earthquake from a couple of days
before.
„As assessment goes on, the number of damaged homes is running into the
hundreds", written in a local newspaper.
Philstar wrote : The quake was felt strongest in Musuan and Maramag towns at
Intensity 5. It was felt at Intensity 4 in Valencia City in Bukidnon and Arakan in North
Cotabato; Intensity 3 in Malaybalay City in Bukidnon, Cagayan de Oro City in
Miramis Oriental and Kidapawan City; and Intensity 2 in Butuan and Cotabato cities.
Phivolcs reported that the quake was followed by another tremor, measuring
magnitude 4.9 in the Richter scale, at 3:52 a.m. The epicenter was also traced on land,
estimated at 15 kilometers northwest of Maramag town with a depth of three
kilometers. The second quake was felt at Intensity 5 in Musuan and Maramag towns;
Intensity 4 in Valencia City and Arakan, North Cotabato; Intensity 3 in Malaybalay
City, Cagayan de Oro City and Kidapawan City; and Intensity 2 in Butuan and
Cotabato cities.
The Phivolcs intensity scale is slightly different than the MMI scale. Philvolcs
V means a strong shaking. The scale varies from 1 to X instead of 1 to XII for MMI,
which means that Phivolcs V can be seen as VI MMI.

The expected shaking as calculated by USGS had been MMI VII (very strong shaking)
for Mailag, Valencia andSan Carlos, all together 91000 inhabitants. Valencia was a
middle sized town counting a population of 83000 people.

Based on some reports, people were seeing tonights shaking as aftershocks from
the powerfull M7.6 earthquake from last week.But it had not been found any link to
the mainshock and aftershocks from that massive earthquake.
The final outcome of this earthquake depended upon the exact location of the
epicenter. If close to Valencia (epicenter USGS), damage may had been inflicted.
Except for shaking damage, this area in the Phillipines was also vulnerable for
landslides which could have been even more dangerous than pure earthquake shaking.
This earthquake had no direct relation to the M 7.6 with epicenter in the
Philippine Island area. NO fear at all for a tsunami (Filipinos were very scared for
eventual tsunamis). People not living near the dangerous subduction areas should had
been understood that feeling an earthquake did not give a clue where the earthquake
happened. It may had been a very powerful one far away which could trigger a
tsunami
PHIVOLCS, the Philippine seismological service reported as Magnitude of
M5.8 at a depth of only 3 km. Philvolcs although did not expect any damage or
injuries from this earthquake. The max. MMI Phivolcs was reporting is IV. Phivolcs
located the epicenter more to the west than USGS away from Valencia.
A shallow depth earthquake occurred in the middle of the Philippines night.
Earthquake-Report called this earthquake moderately dangerous. The epicenter was
located at 3km (2mi) SW of Mailag, 5km (3mi) NNE of Valencia, Philippines
and 14km (9mi) NE of Dologon, Philippines.

Most important Earthquake Data:

Magnitude : Mw5.6 (USGS) and Mw5.8 (Phivolcs)

UTC Time : 2012-09-03 19:44:22 UTC

Depth (Hypocenter) : 9.8 km (USGS) and 3 km (Phivolcs)

Geo-location(s) :

3km (2mi) SW of Mailag, Philippines

5km (3mi) NNE of Valencia, Philippines
14m (9mi) NE of Dologon, Philippines
21km (13mi) S of Casisang, Philippines
40 km from Malaybalay (Phivolcs)
863km (536mi) SSE of Manila, Philippines