Residents evacuate homes as aftershocks jolt Batanes anew

TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan, Philippines — Residents of Itbayat in Batanes have sought shelter anew at the municipal quadrangle as more aftershocks rattled the town.

The number of displaced families increased from 58 on Sunday to 90 or 326 people yesterday, Charmaine Gato, Batanes local government operations officer, said.

Gato said residents within the 100-meter radius of a cell site tower were among those evacuated.

A magnitude 2.7 quake jolted the town at around 3:25 a.m. yesterday.

Quakes with magnitudes of 3.6 and 3 occurred at 2:21 a.m. and 5:50 a.m., respectively, on Sunday. The aftershocks were felt at Intensity 4, which is classified as moderately strong.

Gato said classes in Barangay Raele and Sitio Yawran resumed yesterday, but those in the town proper remain suspended.

Biliran, Batangas quakes

Meanwhile, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said a magnitude 4.1 earthquake rocked parts of Biliran while a magnitude 3.7 hit Batangas yesterday.

Phivolcs said the tremor in Biliran occurred at about 5:21 a.m., with its epicenter traced six kilometers southeast of Naval town.

It was felt at Intensity 3 in Naval, Kawayan and Almeria, all in Biliran.

The epicenter of the quake that hit Batangas at around 2:36 a.m. was traced 21 kms southeast of Calatagan. – Helen Flores