No damage reported from 5.2 earthquake in Ormoc

TACLOBAN CITY, July 28 (PNA) –- No damage was reported when a magnitude 5.2 earthquake jolted Ormoc City in western Leyte Wednesday night.

Ormoc Mayor Richard Gomez said the earthquake has caused panic to some residents, but it did not destroy any structure in the city.

Photos have circulated in social media of patients confined at the Ormoc Doctors Hospital being moved to safety after the tremor. Some guests of Ormoc Villa Hotel also rushed to an open area for fear of aftershocks.

Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), in a bulletin issued Wednesday night, said the quake with tectonic origin was felt at 7:56 p.m., with a depth of 9 kilometers

The ground shaking had its epicenter eight 8 kilometers north of Ormoc City, was said to be tectonic in origin.

Phivolcs reported that the tremor was felt at intensity 4 in Ormoc City, while intensities 3 and 2 were felt in Villaba and Pastrana, Leyte; and Cebu, respectively.

It was followed with a magnitude 3.1 earthquake with tectonic origin at 8:12 p.m. The epicenter was six kilometers south of Ormoc. (PNA)

JMC/SARWELL Q. MENIANO