KIDAPAWAN City – A magnitude 6.0 tremor rocked Lanao del Sur that caused minor damages to at least 30 houses in four barangays yesterday morning.
Lanao del Sur provincial information officer Salma Jayne Tamano said the tremor’s brunt was felt in four barangays of Wao, and even caused two cracks at four to three-inch wide dimensions on the national highway.
Official report from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reveal that the tremor was felt around 5:21 a.m. that was tectonic in origin and was traced about six kilometers west of Wao.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) meantime measured a magnitude 5.8 movement in Osias, Bukidnon.
The tremor and its aftershocks were felt in areas surrounding Lanao del Sur suck as the cities of Cotabato, Cagayan de Oro, Davao and Gingoog, and even here.
Officials of a two-storey hospital in Wao had to evacuate patients from the second floor after the earth movement for fear of stronger aftershocks.
Tamano said Governor Soraya Alonto-Adiong convened the provincial disaster preparedness and relief teams yesterday to conduct assessment visits and provide relief assistance in Wao.
Phivolcs said Intensity VII was felt in Wao, Lanao del Sur and Kalilangan, Bukidnon; Intensity V in Banisilan, North Cotabato; Intensity IV in Cagayan de Oro City, Cotabato City, Ginoog City, Misamis Oriental; Matalam, North Cotabato, and Davao City; Intensity III in Kabacan, North Cotabato; Maramag, Quezon, Don Carlos, Bukidnon; Lebak, Sultan Kudarat; and Intensity II in Kidapawan City; Koronadal City and Camiguin.
As of press time, the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) in Wao is still monitoring and assessing with the 26 barangay captains with regards to other damages in their respective areas.
Rescue teams also arrived in Wao following the strong quake.
Last week a series of earthquakes roused a number of sleepy towns in Batangas that also caused minor damages but caused most of its residents to panic. (With a report from Francis T. Wakefield) (ALI G. MACABALANG)