The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) recorded a series of earthquakes offshore of Kalamansig on Wednesday, prompting the preemptive evacuation of residents in nearby Lebak town.
The Philippine Coast Guard Station in Sultan Kudarat carried out the evacuation of around 350 families from coastal and high-risk areas in Lebak and Sebak, Sultan Kudarat.
Evacuated residents were temporarily housed in designated evacuation centers in Barangays Pasandalan and Poloy-Poloy in Lebak. The Coast Guard said priority assistance was given to children, senior citizens, pregnant women and persons with disabilities.
Phivolcs earlier logged a magnitude 5.7 earthquake off the coast of Kalamansig at around 1:05 a.m. The tremor, which was tectonic in origin, had a depth of 19 kilometers.
Following the seismic activity, the provincial government ordered the suspension of classes at all levels in both public and private schools, as well as work in government offices in Kalamansig, Lebak and Palimbang until further notice. Offices involved in essential services, disaster response, health services and emergency operations were exempted.
“Monitoring, relief operations, and safety assessments are ongoing to ensure the welfare of all affected victims,” the Coast Guard in Sultan Kudarat said in a post.
Additional earthquakes were recorded later in the day. At around 2:31 p.m., Phivolcs logged a magnitude 5.1 earthquake offshore of Kalamansig, with Intensity IV felt in Lebak and Intensity III in Palimbang. The quake was tectonic in origin and had a depth of 10 kilometers.
Another magnitude 5.7 earthquake was recorded at about 2:47 p.m., with instrumental intensities of Intensity V in Lebak and Intensity IV in Palimbang. This tremor was also tectonic in origin and had a depth focus of 10 kilometers.
Phivolcs said no damage or aftershocks were reported following the seismic events, adding that the series of tremors form part of an ongoing earthquake swarm offshore of Sultan Kudarat.