Text messages warning of a powerful quake Wednesday night a hoax - Phivolcs

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) sought Wednesday afternoon to allay fears caused by text messages circulating about a supposedly powerful quake that was to strike the country in the evening. In a radio interview, Phivolcs' Isabel Abigania categorically said there is no truth to such text messages, saying there is currently no available tool that could be used to predict the occurrence of an earthquake. Abigania also noted that Phivolcs is not aware of the entity United States Geological Society, wjhich is the supposed source of the text messages. "Ipinapaalam namin sa publiko walang katotohanan ang text na kumakalat sa lindol na mangyayari mamayang gabi (We want to inform the public there is no truth to the text messages circulating about a powerful quake that will strike tonight)," Abigania said in an interview on dzRH radio. "Walang tool para mag-predict ng quake. Walang US Geological Society, ang katrabaho natin US Geological Service (We have no tools to predict quakes. And there is no such thing as a US Geological Society. What we're work with is the US Geological Service)," she said. The text messages had indicated a magnitude-6.8 quake would strike the country. This came after a powerful quake hit China where tens of thousands of people were killed. - GMANews.TV