DAVAO CITY – The Davao Region awoke at predawn Thursday to one of the strongest quakes to hit Mindanao in decades, but government disaster management offices reported no major damage in the region.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the quake of Magnitude 7.1 occurred at 1:46 am Thursday some 79 kilometers southeast of Governor Generoso town of Davao Oriental.
It has a depth of 55 kilometers at its epicenter, which lies along the country’s longest earthquake generator, the Philippine Trench.
The quake was initially estimated at Magnitude 7.3.
Some 57 aftershocks were recorded as of Thursday afternoon, with the stronger ones recorded at magnitude 4.1 (at 2:44 am 166 kms southeast of Tarragona town), magnitude 4.8 (at 3:28 am 142 southeast of Governor Generoso), magnitude 4.9 (at 10:25 am 208 kms southeast of Tarragona), and magnitude 4.3 (at 1.25 pm 163 kms southeast of Tarragona).
There were no reports of casualty or major damage to property, although the Phivolcs warned of such incidents given the magnitude of such temblor.