Philippines Earthquake: 5.9 Quake Jolts Southern Philippines

Just days after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake shook eastern Philippines, damaging some structures and knocking out power, another temblor struck the country’s southern coastline on Monday.

The latest quake, which measured 5.9 on the Richter, struck around 2:49 pm local time and was located in the Celebes Sea, 41 miles (67 kilometers) west of Palimbang town on the southern island of Mindanao, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.

According to the institute’s chief, Renato Solidum, the moderate temblor set objects swaying in nearby cities but was not expected to cause any serious damage or casualties.

“We expect aftershocks,” Solidum told AFP.

Solidum added that Monday’s quake, which struck at a depth of 22 miles (36 kilometers), was not related to the 7.6 magnitude quake that struck late Friday near Mindanao.

The Friday quake occurred just before 8:50 pm and prompted the Philippine government to issue a tsunami warning, causing thousands of villagers to flee their coastal homes in the southern and central islands. The powerful temblor has since generated over 372 aftershocks that have caused a series of small waves and the death of one woman, who was hit by a landslide, AFP reports.

“They can persist for several weeks, these are normal patterns for earthquakes,” Solidum said of the aftershocks, which have ranged from 4.7 to 5.4 magnitude. “Typically, it will occur in the same segment of the fault that moved. In most cases, earthquakes following a major one will be smaller.”

Meanwhile, Shirley Escalante, Radio Australia’s reporter in Manila said most of the 300 families that sheltered in evacuation centers over the weekend due to aftershocks have returned home.

via Yahoo!