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Phivolcs: Manila Trench may bring bigger quakes


The Philippines’ chief state seismologist on Tuesday said that the Manila trench, which generated the magnitude-5.7 jolt in southern Luzon Monday night, could actually trigger earthquakes with magnitudes as high as 8.2. "Ang mga active faults tulad ng Manila Trench ay capable na magdulot ng magnitude-7.9 to -8.2 na lindol," said Director Renato Solidum of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs). (Active faults such as the Manila Trench are capable of producing magnitude-7.9 to -8.2 earthquakes.)
The Manila Trench is an ocean trench in the South China Sea, west of the country. The trench runs as deep as 5,400 meters – more than thrice the average depth of the South China Sea of about 1,500 meters below sea level. Aside from the magnitude-5.7 quake that hit southern Luzon past 6 p.m. Monday, another quake with a magnitude of 4.7 hit Camarines Sur three hours later. But Solidum – talking with reporters after a Senate inquiry on the government’s and private sector's preparedness during earthquakes or radiation exposure – assured the public that last night's twin jolts did not necessarily mean a bigger earthquake is impending. "Pero hindi natin masasabing precursor iyan... Pero kahit hindi precursor, kailangan maging handa pa rin tayo sa mga ganitong lindol," he said. (We can’t say it’s a precursor though… Just the same, we still need to be prepared for these kinds of quakes.) Solidum however warned that the two successive earthquakes that struck southern Luzon and the Bicol area on Monday could also trigger aftershocks. As of posting time, he said his office has not yet recorded any aftershock from the two quakes. "Posibleng may maliliit na aftershock pero wala pang nare-report," Solidum said. (It’s possible there are weaker aftershocks but none has been reported yet.) Solidum also said Monday’s two quakes had nothing to do with the magnitude-9.0 killer quake that hit Japan two weeks ago that triggered a 10-meter high tsunami, killing thousands. "Ang lindol kahapon ay sa Manila trench lang. Ang sa Japan naman ay sa Japan trench ang pinaggagalingan nun. Hindi po sila konektado," he said. (Yesterday’s quake was just along the Manila trench. That one in Japan came from the Japan trench. The two are not connected.) As earlier revealed by Phivolcs deputy director Bartolome Bautista in an earlier Senate inquiry on earthquake preparedness, movement at another fault line, particularly at the Valley fault line that runs through eastern Metro Manila, could trigger earthquakes with a magnitude as high as 7.2 and impart great damage to the metropolis.—Mark D. Merueñas/JV, GMA News

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