DAVAO CITY (Mindanews/December 3) – The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) recorded a magnitude 6.0 earthquake at 6:36 p.m.
“This is an aftershock of the 2023 December 2 [Magnitude] 7.4 offshore Surigao Del Sur earthquake event,” Phivolcs said in a statement.
Hundreds of aftershocks were recorded between 10:37 p.m. on Saturday and 6:36 p.m. on Sunday, 28 of them above Magnitude 4. Of the 28, three were above Magnitude 6 — 6.1 at 12:03 a.m. on December 3, 6.2 at 1:40 a.m. and 6 at 6:36 p.m.
Phivolcs corrected its initial report on Saturday night’s strong quake from Magnitude 6.9 to Magnitude 7.4.
The tectonic earthquake was 25 kilometers deep and its epicenter was at 42 kilometers northeast of Hinatuan.
“The earthquake generated in the Philippine Trench means that the trench is active… it can generate light to major earthquakes” Phivolcs director Teresito Bacolcol said in a virtual press conference streamed on Facebook on Sunday.
The tsunami warning, which was forecasted to generate at least one meter of waves along the coasts of Surigao del Sur and Davao Oriental, was lifted at around 3:23 a.m. on Sunday.
Phivolcs reported that tsunami-related wave heights were recorded but they were less than a meter – 0.64 meters in Mawes Island, Hinatuan, 0.18 meters in Lawigan, Bislig City, 0.05 meters in the Port of Dapa, Surigao del Norte, and 0.08 meters in Mati, Davao Oriental.
“The last recorded tsunami wave arrival in the Philippines occurred at 02:52 AM (PST) at Hinatuan-Bislig Bay Station on Mawes Island. This means that the tsunami threat associated with this earthquake has now largely passed the Philippines,” Phivolcs said. (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)
