Eight quakes hit Northern Luzon

By Freddie Lazaro and Charlie Lagasca

SINAIT, Ilocos Sur — A total of eight earthquakes rocked northern Luzon last week, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported.

Following the magnitude 5.1 earthquake that occurred on Monday at 8:24 a.m. some six kilometers southwest of Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, seven more tremors happened, said Phivolcs researcher Julius Galdiano.

Almost simultaneously, a brownout engulfed the whole province following the tremor, which was estimated at a magnitude of from three to five with the strongest felt in Bayombong and nearby areas including this premier town and northern Bambang town around 8:50 a.m.

 Several electric posts and power transmission lines were slightly damaged by the tremor, causing the power outage, which is still being experienced as of press time yesterday.

Classes in all levels were temporarily suspended in Bayombong due to fear of another tremor as several aftershocks were felt after the first quake.

Galdiano said the second was a magnitude 3.4 earthquake at 8:28 a.m. with its epicenter at 9 km southwest of Bayombong.

The third happened at 10 a.m. and had a magnitude of 4.1. Its epicenter was 5 km southwest of Bayombong with a depth of 22 km.

The fourth earthquake happened at 12:26 p.m. with a magnitude of 4.1 and its epicenter at 87 km northwest of Laoag City, Ilocos Norte.

The fifth was a magnitude 3.1 quake that occurred at 5:01 p.m. 118 kilometers north east of Laoag City.

The sixth was recorded at 8:04 p.m. and had a magnitude of 3.0 with its epicenter at 18 km southwest of Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya.

The seventh earthquake happened at 8:43 p.m. with a magnitude of 2.5, some 9 km southwest of Bayombong.

The eighth was a magnitude 4.0 tremor that happened at 10:05 p.m. with its epicenter at 42 km southwest of Lingayen, Pangasinan.

The eight earthquakes were not strong enough to cause any damage to property or casualties.

The tremor brought back to residents memories of July 16, 1990 when a 7.2-magnitude quake severely hit northern Luzon including this southern Cagayan Valley province where at least 40 people were buried alive in its aftershocks in its northern mountainous areas.

The said 1990 killer quakes were caused by movements in the Digdig fault line, which straddles from Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija to Benguet via Nueva Vizcaya.