A 5.4 magnitude earthquake hit Philippines province of Batangas on Tuesday evening causing damage in churches and commercial establishments, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.
The epicenter of the quake, which struck at 8:58 pm, was located in 7 kilometers northwest of Tingloy in Batangas province, south of Manila, at a depth of 5 kilometers. The tremor was also felt in parts of Metro Manila and south Luzon.
Renato Solidum, Director of Phivolcs said there was no threat of a tsunami but aftershocks are expected. "We don't expect significant damage in many areas but we need to make sure that the other areas near the epicenter would report there are slight damages. At this stage, the highest intensity reported so far is intensity VI in Batangas City, and the rest will be much lower," Solidum told CNN Philippines.
The social media was immediately flooded with tweets and reports of the earthquake, with some even relating it to international band Coldplay's concert.
We felt the earthquake in Tagaytay, it was strong our house was shaking got the dogs stop, hold, duck then move to a safe place #earthquake
— U-gin (@ervicta) April 4, 2017
So #ColdplayManila is so loud that the entire manila felt the ground shook #earthquake
— Dhawell (@dhawellskie) April 4, 2017
Drop, Cover and Hold on guys! Keep in mind during #earthquake
— TheGreatestFanGirl (@arivenm12) April 4, 2017
i think the #earthquake lasts for abt 20 sec here in Lucena City
— Maple ? (@goblinsmaple) April 4, 2017
The Philippines sits on the highly seismically active zone "Pacific Ring of Fire" where many continental plates on the earth's crust keep colliding. Hence, it experiences frequent earthquakes.
The last lethal earthquake to hit the country before the February 10 quake was a 7.1-magnitude tremor that left over 220 people dead and destroyed historic churches when it struck the central islands in October 2013.
