Metro Manila, Philippines — Two earthquakes were recorded in waters off Jomalig town in Quezon province on Wednesday morning, Sept. 4, government seismologists said.
In photos shared on social media, students in Camarines Norte were seen leaving classrooms for safer ground.
Quezon Gov. Angelina Tan also suspended classes in public and private schools in Burdeos, Jomalig, and Patnanungan.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said a magnitude 5.3 quake hit 42 kilometers northeast of Jomalig at 7:16 a.m. with a depth of two kilometers. It was downgraded from the initial report of magnitude 5.6.
Intensity V was the highest recorded intensity in Jomalig and Polillo, even as Phivolcs warned of aftershocks. Intensity indicates the severity of ground shaking.
By 7:55 a.m., Phivolcs recorded a magnitude 4.9 at 38 kilometers northeast of Jomalig town. It had a depth of one kilometer.
Phivolcs described the event as a “doublet,” or when two earthquakes of nearly the same size happen close to each other in the same area.
“Though they seem similar, they are actually separate events, not one triggering the other,” the agency said. “This happens where faults are quite complicated, causing the stress to trigger a sequence of events.”
Both earthquakes were felt in some parts of Metro Manila, Phivolcs said.
No damage is expected, it added.
Here are the reported intensities of magnitude 5.3 earthquake:
+ Intensity V – Jomalig and Polillo, Quezon
+ Intensity IV – Burdeos and Panukulan, Quezon; Santa Elena, Vinzons, and Paracale, Camarines Norte
+ Intensity III – Guinayangan, Alabat, Tagkawayan, Calauag, General Nakar, Real, and Mauban, Quezon; Quezon City; Pateros
+ Intensity II – Atimonan, Lopez, and Gumaca, Quezon; Basud and Gallego, Camarines Norte
+ Intensity I – City of Caloocan; Pasig City
Here are the reported intensities of the magnitude 4.9 earthquake:
+ Intensity IV – Polillo, Quezon
+ Intensity III – Guinayangan, Alabat, Tagkawayan, Calauag, and Panukulan, Quezon; City of Makati; Quezon City
+ Intensity II – Lopez, and Gumaca, Quezon
