Earthquake rocks Metro Manila, parts of Luzon

(Updated 2:16 PM) - A 5.9-magnitude earthquake shook Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon past noon Thursday, state seismologists said. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the epicenter of the tectonic quake was traced 111 kilometers west of Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro at the South China Sea.
View Mindoro Earthquake in a larger map The quake was felt at intensity V in Looc, Lubang Island in Occidental Mindoro; intensity IV in Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Makati, and Clark, Pampanga; and intensity II in Bagac, Bataan and Canlubang, Laguna, Phivolcs said. Aftershocks are expected, although the quake is not expected to generate tsunamis because “it was not too strong," Phivolcs added. According to a separate report from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the quake, which occurred at 1:29 p.m., measured at magnitude 6.1, with an epicenter traced off Lubang Island, Occidental Mindoro. The epicenter had a depth of 72.4 kilometers, the USGS said. GMANews.TV Facebook fans from various parts of Metro Manila, Bataan, Pampanga and Laguna experienced the earthquake.