A magnitude-5.2 quake rocked Burias Island in Luzon early Thursday, but state seismologists said there was no initial report of damage or casualty.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the quake was recorded at 6:24 a.m., with the epicenter traced at 35 km south of San Pascual in Burias Island.
"Hindi masyadong malaki ang magnitude kaya hindi ito makapagdudulot ng tsunami. Yung intensities na ini-report sa atin Intensity III, hindi natin ine-expect ang damage sa nangyari," Phivolcs director Renato Solidum Jr. said in an interview on dzBB radio.
(The quake was not powerful to cause a tsunami. Based on the intensities reported to us, the highest is Intensity III, we do not expect much damage.)
Solidum also said there was no initial report of aftershocks so far.
Citing initial reports reaching him, he said the quake was felt at Intensity III in San Pascual in Burias Island and in Sorsogon City in Sorsogon province; and in Legazpi and Tabaco Cities and Sto. Domingo town in Albay province.
It was felt at Intensity II in San Jacinto in Ticao Island in the Island province of Masbate; and Intensity I in other parts of Masbate.
Meanwhile, the United States Geological Survey recorded the quake at magnitude 5.1, and said the source was the Sibuyan Sea.
It said the epicenter was 80 km west-northwest of Masbate City in Masbate; 95 km west-southwest of Legazpi City in Albay; 105 km south-southwest of Naga City in Bicol; and 300 km southeast of Manila.
