Strong earthquake tremors in Philippines, magnitude 7.1 on Richter scale [TKB Science]

A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the Philippines’ Luzon island on Wednesday, the US Geological Survey said. Strong tremors were felt in many areas, including the capital Manila. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 km, in which no damage has been reported. The USGS said the epicenter of the quake was about 11 km east-southeast of the city of Dolores in Abra province.

Eric Singson, a congressman from northern Ilocos Sur province, told that the quake was felt strongly.  He said, “Now we are trying to reach out to the people. The tremors are coming right now so we are out of our house.” Apart from this, the Ministry of Transport said that the earthquake was also felt strongly in Manila and the metro rail system of the city was stopped after the quake. Media reported that the Senate building in the capital has also been evacuated.

Renato Solidum, director of the state seismology agency, told DZMM radio station that the quake may have caused damage in Abra where Dolores is located, but did not see damage in Manila.

Last month, in June, a turbulent volcano erupted in the central Philippines. So much ash came out from this volcano that clouds of ash were visible for at least 1 km in the sky. The authorities had raised the alert on Mount Bulusan. Along with this, citizens were instructed not to enter the danger area. The Philippines Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised the alert on Mount Bulusan from 0 to 1 on a five-level scale. This means that at present this volcano is in ‘abnormal condition’.

24 Active Volcanoes in the Philippines

The institute says that 77 volcanic earthquakes were also recorded in the 24 hours before the volcanic eruption. Renato Solidum, the head of the institute, described the eruption of Bulusan as a ‘phreatic’ or steam flare, which is characteristic of Bulusan volcano. The giant cloud of ash emanating from Bulusan changed the color of the sky from blue to gray. The institute says that there are 24 active volcanoes in the Philippines, of which Bulusan is also one. Bullusan last erupted in June 2017. The Philippines is in the Pacific Ring of Fire, where volcanic activity and earthquakes are common.