Four Earthquakes Hit Baguio City On March 22, OCD Cordillera Reminds Public To Be Vigilant

Four mild earthquakes shook Baguio City on March 22. The first two occurred at 11:34 a.m. then at 11:37 a.m. with magnitudes 3.0 and 2.4 respectively. A few hours later, two more mild earthquakes followed. One at 1:08 p.m. with a magnitude of 2.5 and the other at 5:37 p.m. with a magnitude of 2.8.

It was earlier reported that two of the earthquakes that occurred in the morning happened almost the same time the City was doing a simultaneous”Duck-Cover-Hold” earthquake drill. Around 58,000 elementary and high school students participated in the activity initiated by the Department of Education Baguio Division.

Four Earthquakes Shake Baguio City on March 22

The quakes that hit Baguio City on the morning of March 22 were equivalent to Intensity II or “Slightly Felt” as classified by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHILVOCS)  Earthquake Intensity Scale (PEIS).

In the afternoon, two more quakes shook the City with magnitudes 2.5 and 2.8 at 1:08 p.m. and 5:37 p.m. respectively. Magnitude 2.5 or Intensity I is classified as “Scarcely Perceptible” on the PEIS. This means that it is only perceptible to people under favorable circumstances.

Magnitude 2.8, on the other hand, is Intensity II or “Slightly Felt” similar to that of those that occurred in the morning wherein only a few individuals indoors can feel the quake. Only delicately balanced objects move while still water in containers oscillate slowly.

No Damage from the mild quakes, PHILVOCS Baguio

Amanda Soriano of PHILVOCS Baguio said in a report by the Philippine Information Agency that there were no damage reported from the first three quakes. She said that the quakes were “mild” and “should not cause alarm among people.”

Soriano explains that there are around 20 quakes recorded in a day but are not really felt by people. These tremors are caused by the slight movement of plates or the land rock movement underground.

OCD-CAR Reminds Public to be vigilant

The Office of Civil Defense Cordillera (OCD-CAR) and PHILVOCS clarified through the same report that the earthquakes and the scheduled simultaneous earthquake drills weren’t at all planned and was just a coincidence.

With the mild quaked that have hit Baguio City on March 22, OCD-CAR reminds the public to always be ready if ever bigger earth movements occur. Participate or be educated on the basic disaster preparedness measures and plan.