Another quake strikes Negros

MANILA, Philippines - Another earthquake with a magnitude of 3.7 rocked Negros Occidental yesterday, a day after a magnitude 6.2 tremor struck the province, sending villagers rushing to evacuation centers.

Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) director Renato Solidum said yesterday’s tremor occurred at 10:30 a.m. and was centered at 73 kilometers southeast of Sipalay City in Negros Occidental where it was felt at Intensity 1.

Solidum said no damage or aftershocks were expected from the quake.

Reports said a woman died of heart attack when the magnitude 6.2 struck southern Negros Occidental early Tuesday morning.

Divina Galvez, 53, of Barangay Su-ay, Himamaylan City, suffered a heart attack as she panicked when the quake struck, said Adonis Belnas of the Provincial Disaster Management Division (PDMD).

The exact time of Galvez’s death was not immediately known but the Himamaylan City Rescue Team reported her death to the PDMD at around 7:13 a.m. Tuesday, Belnas said.

Himamaylan City is located between Kabankalan City and Binalbagan town, where the tremor was felt at Intensity 5 and 4, respectively.

The quake was also felt in varying intensities in Cauayan, Hinigaran, Talisay City, La Carlota, and La Castellana. About 7,000 residents of Sipalay and 1,000 villagers of Hinobaan town fled to higher grounds Tuesday, fearing that a tsunami might occur, as both places face the Sulu Sea. Authorities, however, did not raise a tsunami alert.

Tuesday’s tremor was also felt in other parts of Negros Island, Panay, Guimaras, and the Leyte provinces.

So far, there have been more than 30 aftershocks, Phivolcs said yesterday. – With Danny Dangcalan