Environment

"Earthquake swarm" in Luzon, Philippines

by jayr_patron | July 7, 2008 at 08:04 pm

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Makati City, Philippines - An earthquake rocked this part of Metro Manila less than two hours ago. Being more than a dozen storeys high, one would know that a tremor is in fact an earthquake, and not a dizzy reaction from eating too much breakfast, when the feeling is shared by you and your colleagues.

"Did you feel that?" my colleague asked.

That's when I knew that it was, in fact, an earthquake.

A 5.4-magnitude earthquake of tectonic origin rocked parts of Luzon, including Metro Manila on Tuesday morning, the second tremor of such magnitude in three days, the chief of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.

The quake was part of an “earthquake swarm” or series of tremors that started last Thursday, caused by the movement of the East Luzon Trough off the northeastern seaboard, Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum said.

Solidum said “earthquake swarms” were common and could last for over a month.