COTABATO CITY—A tremor of tectonic origin—movement of the earth’s plate—shook South-Central Mindanao at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.
According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, the extent of the earthquake varied from magnitude 5.6 to magnitude 6 from its epicenter in Malapatan Sarangani—specifically, 05.81°North, 125.41°East-022 km South 38° East of that town.
Authorities said assessment teams deployed to areas affected have reported minor damage to buildings and road structures, but the total cost of which had yet to be determined.
Last April, South Cotabato also experienced a magnitude 7.2 shock.
On Aug. 17, 1976, a killer tsunami earthquake hit Cotabato City and neighboring areas. More than 8,000 people were killed then, and 10,000 more were either injured or were left homeless.
The Phivolcs here has asked local officials to pass an Ordinance, calling for a “retrofit” of buildings and other structures in the city.
Retrofitting will subject buildings and structures to thorough inspection for evaluation in terms of structural durability and endurance in state of earthquakes and other calamities.
“We must be concerned about this, since the Philippines, as a whole, is included in the Pacific Ring of Fire,” said engineer Rainier Amilbahar, Phivolcs-Central Mindanao seismic station chief.
The “Ring of Fire” is a mapped fault line along the Pacific Ocean where many earthquakes and volcanic eruptions have occurred.
“There is no substitute to being always ready against occurrences of natural disasters,” Amilbahar said.