6.1-magnitude quake hits Luzon; Metro Manila feels effects

PHIVOLCS' science research assistant Karl Vincent Soriano points the spot in the terminal screen where a magnitude 6.1 quake struck off Luzon's northwestern side Sunday morning. PHOTO BY ED ESTABAYA umaga ng 6 Oclock

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InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5

MANILA, Philippines - (UPDATE 2, 8:30 a.m.) A magnitude 6.1 quake jolted Luzon early Sunday morning, with its effects felt in Metro Manila.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the quake measured 6 in magnitude and occurred at 6:18 a.m. with its epicenter located 52 kilometers southwest of the town of Candelaria in Zambales. 

Earlier, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake was at magnitude 6.1 with its epicenter located off Dagupan, Pangasinan. It said the quake had a depth of 35 kilometers (22 miles) and hit at 6:19 a.m. (2219 GMT Saturday) some 143 kilometers southwest of the city of Baguio and 181 kilometers northwest of the capital Manila.

Phivolcs said the quake was tectonic in origin with a depth of 12 kilometers.

Intensity 4 was felt in Makati City while Intensity 3 was felt in Quezon City. 

Phivolcs said aftershocks are expected from the quake.

The Philippines sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire -- a belt around the Pacific Ocean dotted by active volcanoes and unstable ocean trenches.

In February, a 6.7-magnitude earthquake in the Visayas triggered landslides that left over a hundred people dead or missing.

One fault line runs directly under Manila, a metropolis of more than 12 million people, and government seismologists have warned the city is unprepared for a major quake.

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