Magnitude 4.6 quake rattles Quezon, NCR

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake in Northern Quezon jolted Metro Manila and nearby provinces at 12:17PM Tuesday, prompting building evacuations and temporary public transport delays, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) reported.

The tectonic quake, at a depth of 11km, registered Intensity 5 in General Nakar, Quezon, and Intensity 4 in Infanta and Real (Quezon); Doña Remedios Trinidad (Bulacan); Tanay (Rizal); Bacoor (Cavite); San Pedro (Laguna); and the cities of Manila, Makati, Mandaluyong and Marikina.

The state seismologists said that the earthquake was generated by a local fault passing through Sierra Madre.

“This earthquake has no impact with the West Valley Fault, there are different sections, and this local fault has nothing to do with the West Valley Fault,” Phivolcs Director Teresito Bacolcol said in a radio interview.

In Metro Manila, MRT-3, LRT-1 and LRT-2 operations were briefly halted but resumed by 1PM following safety checks. The Polytechnic University of the Philippines–Sta. Mesa suspended classes and work for structural assessments.

At the epicenter in General Nakar, minor cracks appeared in the municipal hall, and local authorities are conducting thorough inspections.

Ron Crisostomo, head of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office of Infanta, said in a phone interview that there were no significant damages recorded in the town after the earthquake.

“There were no significant damages recorded in Infanta, Quezon. We felt an up-and-down motion first, before the sideways motion.”

Phivolcs have advised that aftershocks are possible.