SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur (MindaNews / 17 January) – A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck Talacogon town in Agusan del Sur at 4:55 p.m. Friday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.
In its second bulletin issued at 5:07 Friday, Phivolcs said the tremor was tectonic. Its epicenter was located 10 km southeast of Talacogon with a depth of 13 km.
Johnmar Galdiano, Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer, said in a phone interview that his staff who went to check on the government buildings found no damage based on their initial assessment.
Galdiano said he will personally oversee the follow-up assessment on Saturday morning to thoroughly check if there are cracks on the municipal hall, Talacogon District Hospital and the Talacogon Bridge.
Based on their initial findings the quake’s epicenter was about 10 kilometers from the town hall, an area in the Agusan Marsh where no residential houses are found.
He said their initial assessment showed the quake left no damage on school buildings, business establishments and other infrastructures even as the town was identified as the epicenter.
“No buildings were declared no longer safe for use,” Galdiano told PTV News anchor Arfylle Goloran.
On December 26 last year, a magnitude 5.6 quake jolted the town.
Galdiano said the previous quake also did not cause damage on government buildings and private properties.
He earlier said there were small cracks found on the municipal hall building but the edifice is still safe for occupancy. (Chris V. Panganiban/MindaNews)
