Cebuanos Urged to Prepare for Earthquakes

A Cebu provincial disaster mitigation official on Wednesday urged the public to prepare for earthquakes after a series of mild temblors and aftershocks jolted this central Philippine island on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Baltazar Tribunalo Jr., Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) head, said no damages or injuries were reported in these earthquakes.

He said earthquakes, unlike typhoons, are unpredictable and it is better for everyone to prepare for stronger earthquakes such as the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that shook Cebu and Bohol on Oct. 15, 2013.

That earthquake caused heavy damage on public infrastructure, centuries-old churches and houses in Bohol.

In Cebu, it heavily damaged the Palace of Justice at the Cebu Capitol compound, forcing courts to move to another location.

The earthquake also caused the collapse of one of the belfries of the centuries-old Basilica Minore del Sto. Nino in Cebu City and damaged the Cebu City Medical Center building, the old Pasil Fish Market and the Mandaue City Public Market.

A 3.6-magnitude earthquake of tectonic origin jolted parts of Cebu province and Metro Cebu at 3:41 a.m. Tuesday, followed by at least nine aftershocks and a milder earthquake at 9:46 a.m. on Wednesday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology-Region 7 (Phivolcs-7) said.

The epicentre was traced near Asturias town in Cebu’s western seaboard.

Robinson Gorgio, Phivolcs-7 station chief, said these earthquakes were strong enough to cause damage, such as the one in 2013. (PNA)EB/EDS