Magnitude 4.4 earthquake jolts Pugo, La Union

A magnitude 4.4 earthquake jolted Pugo, La Union Thursday morning.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) an earthquake with a depth of 23 kilometers was recorded at 10:30 a.m.

It was located at  16.33° North, 120.49° East - 003 km North 78° East of Pugo.

Intensity IV was felt over Pugo and Tubao in La Union, as well as Baguio City.

Intensity III was felt over Itogon in Benguet, Villasis in Pangasinan, and San Fernando in La Union.

In an interview with Super Radyo dzBB, PHIVOLCS Director Dr. Teresito Bacolcol said there are no expected aftershocks.

He also said that the quake was not related to the strong earthquake that recently shook Cebu.

“Magkaibang fault system po ito. Hindi po sila konektado. Masyado pong malayo,” he said.

(These are different fault systems. They are not connected. They’re too far apart.)

Bacolcol also assured the public that there was no significant increase in earthquakes despite recent reports.

“Yung frequency dati at frequency ngayon ng number of earthquakes ay pareho lang. It’s just that maraming nakakaramdam ngayon kasi maraming tao, and with the advent of social media ay mabilis na kumalat ang information. But the number of earthquakes before and ngayon ay pareho lamang,” he said.

(The frequency before and now of the number of earthquakes are the same. It’s just that more people can feel it now, and information spreads fast with the advent of social media. But the number of earthquakes before and now are just the same.)

“We record at least 30 earthquakes a day. Karamihan dito ay mahihina lamang (Most of them are weak),” he added.

Several areas suspended classes due to the earthquake.

Meanwhile, Baguio City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office Operations Officer Julius Santos said they are currently conducting inspection on affected infrastructure.

“I-evaluate muna ng mga respective safety officers at mga assigned na structural engineers para i-check 'yung integrity ng kanilang mga structure before re-entering sa kanilang mga building,” he said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview.

(Respective safety officers and assigned structural engineers will have to evaluate the integrity of the structures before allowing the public to re-enter the buildings.) —Jiselle Anne Casucian/AOL, GMA Integrated News