Magnitude 4.2 quake hits Cataingan anew

MASBATE CITY --- A 4.2 magnitude earthquake hit Cataingan town in the island province of Masbate anew after a 6.6 magnitude of earthquake took place last month.

The earthquake took place at 12:00 PM Wednesday, Sept. 23.

According to Phivolcs, the 4.2 magnitude tremor is tectonic in origin with a depth of 24 kilometers and is considered as an aftershocks of the 6.6 magnitude earthquake on Aug. 18.

The earthquake also shook Legazpi City and parts of Albay. For several days now, low earthquakes have been intermittently taking place in the Bicol region.

Masbate province continues to feel aftershocks including the mainland Bicol for a month now after the 6.6 earthquake in Cataingan town.

Last August 18, the earthquake hit Cataingan and triggered a ground subsidence in Matayum village, leading to houses disappearing into the sea.

While a two-hectare mountain towering over the Cataingan seaport collapsed, engulfing 15- to 20-feet high coconut trees plantation to the ground.

A sea sinkhole also destroyed vital structures in the port, forcing ferry operations to stop.

The Office of Civil Defense in Bicol led by Claudio Yucot reported some P 309 million worth of damages to government and private infrastructures. Houses numbering 959 were also damaged by the earthquake, with 82 homes totally destroyed and 877 partially damaged.

The Saint Joseph Parish church was closed to the public after the church’s facade separated from the main structure. The church is in danger of further collapsing due to the ongoing aftershocks.

Paul Alanis, Phivolcs Bicol chief, advised Cataingan residents to be on guard always for possible landslide after big cracks on a mountainside were seen.

Alanis said that Cataingan town sits on top of the Philippine fault zone starting from Northern Luzon to Mindanao.