Magnitude 5 earthquake jolts Calaca, Batangas

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 9:53 a.m.) — A strong magnitude 5 earthquake hit the province of Batangas on Friday morning, with state seismologists from Phivolcs fearing both damages and aftershocks.

The epicenter of the rumbling was recorded southwest of Calaca, Batangas at around 8:24 a.m. and had tectonic origins.

#EarthquakePH #EarthquakeBatangas#iFelt_BatangasEarthquake
Earthquake Information No.1
Date and Time: 13 October 2023 - 08:24 AM
Magnitude = 5.0
Depth = 014 km
Location = 13.89°N, 120.78°E - 005 km S 39° W of Calaca (Batangas)https://t.co/vtdnaiUdGP pic.twitter.com/2n76fW5nhj

Phivolcs is expecting both damages and aftershocks due to earthquake.

"So far everything's okay. No casualties although this is the epicentre," said Rafael Cuevas, a disaster agency official in Calaca City in Batangas province.

"We felt a strong shake... for less than 10 seconds."

Mabini municipality disaster chief Arnold Panopio said: "At first it was just a slight jolt then it became strong then stopped immediately."

Panopio said no casualties or damage had been reported, but a local high school with around 2,000 students had suspended classes as a precaution.

In Manila, students wearing hard hats and office workers assembled outside buildings, waiting for the all clear to go back inside. 

Quakes are a daily occurrence in the Philippines, which sits along the Pacific "Ring of Fire", an arc of intense seismic as well as volcanic activity that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin. — with a report from Agence France Presse