Strong earthquake 60 km out in the Philippine Sea, Samar, Philippines
Last update: February 4, 2012 at 3:14 pm by By Ashish Khanal
M 5.9 2012/02/04 13:09 Depth 19.0 km SAMAR, PHILIPPINES
09:09:29 PM at epicenter
Very strong earthquake 60 km out in the Philippine Sea
140 km from Tacloban, Leyte, Philippines
Reported intensities by Phivolcs, the Philippines seismological agency Intensity IV – Gamay, Northern Samar Intensity III – Palo, Leyte; Tacloban,Leyte; San Policarpo, E. Samar; Dolosa, Leyte; Catbalogan, Samar; Oras E. Samar
Update 15:14 UTC : 4 aftershocks so far, among these aftershocks 1 of M 5.0 PHIVOLCS Satellite map of the greater epicenter area
M 5.8 2012/02/04 07:40 Depth 10.1 km TONGA
08:40:13 PM at epicenter
Strong earthquake with an epicenter approx. 50 km from the Hai-apai group.
140 km (86 miles) ENE of NUKU`ALOFA, Tonga
Satellite map of the greater epicenter area (see below)
Label info : M = magnitude, D = depth (km), Time = UTC
Strong dangerous coastal earthquake near Guiuan, Samar, The Philippines – high chance on landslides
Last update: January 17, 2012 at 3:04 pm by By Armand Vervaeck
Earthquake overview : Strong coastal earthquake. Initial reports where mentioning a magnitude of 5.9, but PHIVOLCS, the Philippines seismological agency reports a far less dangerous M 5.0 at a depth of 42 km.
Landscape at the peninsula closest to the epicenter – Panoramio image by Ronnie Muring
– IMPORTANT Update15:58 Phivolcs has also updated his earthquake data as follows : Magnitude 5.9 at a depth of only 25 km, completely the opposite from 1 hour ago
– Update15:58 Phivolcs is expecting damage from this earthquake. ER estimates that the damage will be minor, if any, but as described by meteorologist Robert Speta in the video below, the chance on landslides in the current weather conditions is “very high”. The ground motion sets many earth masses gliding.
– Update15:55
Phivolcs has reported the following intensities (more or less the same than USGS) Intensity V– Salcedo, Borongan and Guiuan, Eastern Samar Intensity IV– Tacloban, Palo and Tolosa, Leyte; Catbalogan, Samar; Dolores and San Policarpo, Eastern Samar Intensity III– St. Bernard and Hinunangan, Southern Leyte; Catarman, Northern Samar Intensity II– Naval, Biliran Intensity I– Cebu City
The PHIVOLCS intensity is ranging from 1 to 10
V, the max. intensity reported by PHIVOLCS is described as : Strong – Generally felt by most people indoors and outdoors. Many sleeping people are awakened. Some are frightened, some run outdoors. Strong shaking and rocking felt throughout building. Hanging objects swing violently. Dining utensils clatter and clink; some are broken. Small, light and unstable objects may fall or overturn. Liquids spill from filled open containers. Standing vehicles rock noticeably. Shaking of leaves and twigs of trees are noticeable
– Update15:47 USGS has decreased his magnitude data from 5.9 to 5.7. The depth has been updated from 50 km to 36 km. As the calculation of earthquake data is very difficult, it is normal that preliminary data are updated later on, however a such a big difference in between a local agency (Phivolcs) and USGS is rather seldom.
