Phivolcs: Quezon earthquake not connected to West Valley fault line
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake that struck General Nakar, Quezon is not connected to the West Valley Fault line, says the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. Image from DOST / Phivolcs
MANILA, Philippines — The magnitude 4.6 earthquake that struck General Nakar, Quezon, and was felt in several areas, including Metro Manila, was not triggered by the West Valley Fault, said a specialist from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
In an interview with INQToday on Tuesday, Senior Science Research Specialist Johnlery Deximo allayed possible fears that the tremor could be connected to the 100-kilometer-long active fault line, which threatens to cause widespread destruction in Metro Manila and surrounding areas.
READ: Magnitude 4.6 earthquake jolts Quezon town, other parts of Luzon
“This is not the West Valley Fault. So it’s quite a distance from the West Valley Fault,” Deximo said in Filipino.
There is also no information yet on whether Tuesday noon’s earthquake had an impact on the West Valley Fault.
“So far, that’s what we’re monitoring—to see if there’s any impact. But it’s far, and it’s not connected to the West Valley Fault,” Deximo said in a mix of Filipino and English.
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In a Viber message to reporters, Phivolcs said the 4.6 earthquake was generated by a local fault traversing Sierra Madre.
The temblor was initially reported at magnitude 5.1 but was later downgraded after recomputation.
Deximo said the first report was based on preliminary parameters collected by the agency’s earthquake autolocator.
“We gathered a lot of data, seismic data from the seismic stations located all over the Philippines. So we processed and analyzed the waveform data coming from different stations all over the Philippines and then we came up with a final magnitude of 4.6,” he said, explaining how they determined the final figure.
The earthquake hit at 12:17 p.m., with the epicenter located 24 kilometers (km) northwest of General Nakar.
Phivolcs said it was tectonic in origin with a depth of focus of 10 km. /jpv
