Earthquakes shake Mindanao amid regional spike in seismic activity

earthquakes

Two earthquakes have shaken the Compostela Valley and Davao Occidental over the weekend amid a regional spike in seismic activity.

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A magnitude five earthquake was felt at 8.28am today (Sunday, August 19) across Compostela Valley province.

Based on the bulletin of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), the epicentre of the quake was Compostela town, and it had a depth of 207 kilometres.

Previously, at 11.28pm yesterday, a 4.1-magnitude earthquake struck Davao Occidental.

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The epicentre was west of Sarangani town and it had a depth of 377 kilometres.

Phivolcs has said that aftershocks are not expected and there has been no reported damage from the two earthquakes.

Elsewhere today, 6.3-magnitude earthquake rocked the Indonesian island of Lombok, causing panic just two weeks after a quake which killed more than 460 people.

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The the epicentre was close to the island’s Belanting town, the US Geological Survey said, at a shallow depth of only seven kilometres.

There have been no immediate reports of deaths or injuries from today’s tremor.

“The earthquake caused people to panic and flee their houses,” national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told Metro TV. “We are still checking.”

The quake comes two weeks after a shallow 6.9-magnitude quake on August 5 levelled tens of thousands of buildings across Lombok. More than 460 people died and many thousands were injured. The economic toll of the quake has been estimated to be at least $348 million.

Also today, massive 8.2 magnitude earthquake struck in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, roughly 200 miles off Fiji and almost the same distance from Tonga, according to a preliminary report from the US Geological Survey.

The earthquake struck just after midday and was almost 560 kilometres deep.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said based on the data available, a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami was not expected.

There have been no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

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