An official of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) office in Kidapawan City has dismissed as untrue a text message circulating in North Cotabato that an underground volcano had been discovered in Carmen town.
John Unson, correspondent of the Philippine Star newspaper, the country’s second biggest daily, wrote in an article that the denial of the story about a volcano supposedly growing underground in Carmen was made by the head of Philvolcs in North Cotabato.
“There is no truth to that message,” engineer Hermie Daquipa said as he noted that the magnitude 5.7 earthquake that jolted parts of Central Mindanao was of tectonic origin and has nothing to do with any volcanic activity, Unson reported in his story.
Unson’s report further said: “The message triggered panic among Muslim and Christian communities in Carmen, worst hit by Saturday night’s magnitude 5.7 tremor that damaged houses, schools and bridges. The town is now under a state of calamity.
“The Phivolcs office in Kidapawan City, which is only about 40 kilometers northeast of Carmen, has recorded close to 200 aftershocks as of Monday.
“Engineer Renier Amilbahar, operations chief of Phivolcs, advised the public to ignore text messages that warned of more powerful earthquakes.
“He urged residents to listen only to their advisories that would be aired over television and radio stations.
Meanwhile, seven children and an adult in Carmen, North Cotabato sustained injuries while 31 houses were damaged as a magnitude 5.7 earthquake shook Central Mindanao Saturday night, Unson’s report said.
“The tremor, which struck at 10:10 p.m. Saturday, also destroyed a bridge connecting a portion of the Sayre Highway between Carmen town and Damulog, Bukidnon.
“The children and their adult companion were injured when boulders and soil from a nearby hill, loosened by the tremor, cascaded into their house.
“The earthquake also des-troyed the concrete walls of several houses at the town proper of Carmen, hometown of North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza.
“Barangay officials said the earthquake also destroyed school buildings and left cracks on concrete solar dryers.
“The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the tremor, with its epicenter traced some 10 kilometers northwest of Carmen, was felt at Intensity 5 in Carmen; Intensity 4 in Roxas (Cotabato), Tacurong City (Sultan Kudarat) and Midsayap (North Cotabato); and Intensity 3 in Misamis City, Cotabato City, Tampakan (South Cotabato), Makilala and Magpet towns (North Cotabato), and the cities of Valencia and Marawi.
“It was also felt at Intensity 2 in Mlang and Tulunan (North Cotabato), Camiguin, General Santos City, Malaybalay (Bukidnon), Misamis Oriental, and Padada (Davao del Sur); and Intensity 1 in Dipolog City.
“Phivolcs continued to record aftershocks yesterday, including a magnitude 4.9 tremor that hit Carmen at 9:40 a.m. and was felt at Intensity 4,” Unson wrote in a report posted with Helen Flores and Alexis Romero.
(Photo caption: This satellite photo downloaded from an earthquake website shows the town of Carmen.)
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