Phivolcs records over 400 aftershocks in E. Visayas after Friday’s 7.6 earthquake
TACLOBAN CITY – The Philippine Trench traversing Eastern Samar has recorded 443 aftershocks following the magnitude 7.6 earthquake that rocked Eastern Visayas Friday night, the Philippine Volcanology and Seismology yesterday reported.
Myra Dolina, science research analyst of Philvolcs regional office in Palo, Leyte said that most of the aftershocks with the same epicenter, were not felt by residents considering its lower intensity. The strongest was intensity 6.8, just 40 minutes after the major quake on the night of August 31.
The Philvolcs website showed that the latest aftershock occurred 8:50 a.m. yesterday with a magnitude of 5.4. The official said that aftershocks last for weeks.
“After the strong quake, the Philippine Trench continues to release force. This is normal considering that the trench has not yet stabilized into its normal condition,” Dolina explained in a telephone interview.
She said that after the major quake, they sent warnings to local government units since aftershocks are dangerous because they are usually unpredictable, and can collapse structures that are damaged from the main shock.
According to Dolina, minor ground shaking before and after a major shock is advantageous as it reduces the intensity of possible strong quakes.
The Philippine Trench, according to Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia, is a submarine trench to the east of the country. It has a length of approximately 1,320 kilometers and a width of about 30 kilometers from the center of Luzon stretching southeast to the northern Maluki Island of Halmahera in Indonesia.
The Office of the Civil Defense in Eastern Visayas yesterday reported that three persons were injured in General MacArthur, Eastern Samar during the quake.
In addition to 110 houses damaged in the towns of General MacArthur, Guiuan, and Hernani in Eastern Samar; Basey and San Jorge, in Samar, the OCD yesterday reported that there were also nine destroyed houses in Mercedes, San Julian, and Quinapondan in Eastern Samar. (Sarwell Q. Meniano)
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