Phivolcs record 79 tremors in North Cotabato

KIDAPAWAN CITY (Sept. 21) -- Seventy-nine earthquakes have hit and recordedinMakilala town and Kidapawan City, both in North Cotabato since 5:59 a.m. Saturday to date, the local Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology today said.Three of these quakes were reported Sunday while several others were unnoticed but recorded by Phivolcs seismograph, according toEngr. Hermes Daquipa, Phivolcs-North Cotabato sub station chief.Since Saturday morning, Daquipa said 12 felt tremors and 67 unfelt quakes were recorded, ranging from Intensity 2 to Intensity 4.Barangay Luayon in Makilala, North Cotabato suffered the brunt of daylight tremors registering magnitude 5.2 at 12:26 p.m. Saturday. A boy was slightly injured.About 80 houses and a chapel were damaged, 25 were totally destroyed and dangerous to be occupied again.Daquipa explained thecauses of the series ofearthquakes were tectonic or the movementof the materials in the mantle that caused the plate to move upwards. There tremors have no connections whatsoever to the country's highest peak,Mount Apo based on the ocular inspection conducted by Phivolcs-North Cotabato.This was to allay fears about reports of an impending eruption of Mt. Apo that went viral in the internet. No manifestation of the increase of the sulfuric emission or ground deformation, or drying up of vegetation’s within the surroundings of Mount Apo which are signs of eruptions, Daquipa told and//www.ndbcnews.com.ph www.ndbcnews.com.ph Daquipa also said his office hadidentified the location of series of tremors. He saidbased on data gathering the tremors were traced in the Makilala-Columbio area, which Phivolcs said, was nota fault line or trench. The Makilala-Colombio line was not in the map of officially-recognized distribution of faults and trenches of Phivolcs, since this is the first time that it moves,” Engr. Daquipa said. He said now discovered fault linesystem traverses along southwest of Barangay Luayon in Makilala, North Cotabato going to the municipality of Colombio in Sultan Kudarat . The basis of the preliminary determination was based on the ground shaking, Daquipa said, adding that no manifestation of ground cracks as monitored by Phivolcs personnel.