The earthquake occurred in the province of Batangas, on the main island of Luzon, without causing any casualties or significant damage.
Witnesses, however, said that buildings in the capital Manila shook and Christmas masses were interrupted.
AFP
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit the Philippines on Friday, according to the American Geophysical Institute (USGS), shaking buildings and interrupting Christmas masses, but without causing any casualties or damage.
The earthquake occurred in Batangas province on the main island of Luzon at 7:43 a.m. (11:43 p.m. GMT), according to the USGS. The great depth of the earthquake (114 km) makes the probability of there being victims or significant material damage low, according to the American institute.
Witnesses, however, said that buildings in the capital Manila shook and Christmas masses were interrupted. “The religious service was on a hiatus but people did not panic,” said Carlo Caceres, police chief of Calatagan, a town near the epicenter of the earthquake, 90 km south of Manila.
“There are often earthquakes in the region and people are more or less used to them,” he added. The Philippines sits on the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, where colliding tectonic plates cause frequent earthquakes and significant volcanic activity.
Posted today at 2:09 am-
