Cotabato City—The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology recorded on Saturday the strongest aftershock of the magnitude 6.3 temblor that hit North Cotabato province and a huge portion of Mindanao earlier this week.
READ: 6.3-quake jolts North Cotabato
At 6:52 a.m. Saturday, a magnitude 5.0 quake rocked Tulunan in North Cotabato, with intensities felt as far as General Santos City and Kiamba, Sarangani.
READ: 5 dead in Mindanao quake
Phivolcs said the tremor was traced 27 km. east of Tulunan and had a depth of only 12 km.
In Manila, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines appealed to the faithful in Luzon and Visayas to help the victims of the magnitude-6.3 earthquake that hit parts of Mindanao, leaving at least six people dead and 93 others injured.
CBCP president Archbishop Romulo Valles urged the public to aid those who need help in North Cotabato and nearby areas.
“May people who are from the outside, reach out to the suffering communities and give them aid according to what they need,” he said in an interview over Church-run Radio Veritas.
The Davao bishop also offered prayers to the victims and their families and all those affected by the natural calamity.
“Almighty Lord, source of comfort and strength in this time great difficulty and sorrow for many people and many communities in the area at Mindanao that was hit by the earthquake,” he said.
“Please, in your own mysterious way, touch them and be there for them. Strengthen their faith in you and strengthen their trust in one another being united and taking care of each other,” the CBCP head added.
Kidapawan Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo said the cathedral and other churches under the diocese remain structurally sound.
“No major damages to our cathedral and other churches. Commercial building and other infrastructures in Kidapawan and other towns were moderately affected,” Bagaforo said in an article posted on the CBCP news website.
Tulunan was the epicenter of the Oct. 16 magnitude-6.3 quake that devastated communities in South Central Mindanao, and parts of Northern Mindanao and the Davao region.
Saturday’s aftershock also shook Kidapawan City (Intensity IV): Tupi, Koronadal City, and Tampakan, South Cotabato (Intensity III); and General Santos City (Intensity II).
Instrumental intensities (ground shaking recorded by seismic instruments) were reported in Malungon, Sarangani; Koronadal City, South Cotabato (Intensity IV); Kidapawan City; General Santos City; Alabel, Sarangani; Tupi, South Cotabato; Davao City (Intensity III); and Kiamba, Sarangani (Intensity I).
At 6:56 p.m. on Friday, Tulunan was rocked by a magnitude-4.7 quake, followed by a magnitude 4.3 at 9:54 p.m.
Hermie Daquipa, Phivolcs-Kidapawan station chief, said more aftershocks were expected.
So far, he said, more than 450 aftershocks have been recorded since the magnitude-6.3 quake on the night of Oct. 16, the worst to hit North Cotabato.
Magnitude measures the energy released from the source of the quake while intensity measures the strength of shaking produced by the earthquake at a certain location.
The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office of Cotabato on Saturday said the province was still experiencing aftershocks, three days after it was hit by the major shock.
In an interview on GMA News’ Balitanghali Weekend, Mercy Foronda said they experienced a magnitude-5.0 aftershock at 7 a.m. on Saturday, while an earlier aftershock took place Friday evening.
According to Foronda, the local government cannot give yet a final figure on the cost of damage since aftershocks were still happening and the numbers still kept on changing.
