Cotabato Trench caused magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Mindanao? PHIVOLCS checking

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) is investigating whether the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Mindanao was generated by the Cotabato Trench.

Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, PHIVOLCS director Teresito Bacolcol said scientists were still analyzing data to determine the exact source of the strong earthquake.

“So far nasa Sarangani Bay ito. Tinitingnan natin if this is related to the Cotabato Trench,” Bacolcol said.

(So far, the earthquake was located around Sarangani Bay. We are investigating if this was related to the Cotabato Trench.)

According to him, the Cotabato Trench remains a highly active seismic feature.

Bacolcol noted that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the devastating 1976 Moro Gulf earthquake and tsunami.

The August 17, 1976 earthquake, which had a magnitude of 8.1, struck near the Moro Gulf along the Cotabato Trench and triggered a tsunami that killed an estimated 8,000 people in Mindanao, he said. —AOL, GMA News