6.9 Magnitude Quake hits Philippines

I thought my swivel chair was just moving side-by-side as I was scribbling on my desk. Little did I know that it was already an earth quake. To my estimate, it was about magnitude 2.0 on the Richter scale. I was just surprised as it has been a long time that a tremor has been felt in Butuan. Several minutes later, it was already in the national news. It was a 6.9 magnitude quake that centered in Central Visayas in the Philippines. The epicenter of the quake, which was dubbed as a “blind fault” by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAG-ASA), was located 72 km (44 miles) North of Dumaguete in  Negros Oriental, Philippines; 74 km (45 miles) West-North-West of Tagbilaran in Bohol, Philippines; 80 km (49 miles) West-South-West of Cebu City in Cebu, Philippines; and 569 km (353 miles) South-South-East of Manila, Philippines.

Epicenter location of the quake

As of this writing, one dead has already been reported a child from the Municipality of Tansay in Negros Oriental in the Visayas who was run over by a wall when the tremor was felt. A Tsunami alert level 2 has already been raised by PAG-ASA on the sea shores of Cebu and Negros. Electricity and communication (cell phone signal) has been cut as a precautionary measure.

With the recent calamity that struck Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao, I’m urging my readers to please pray for the safety of everybody affected. God bless us all