There is no tsunami threat to the Philippines, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said, following a magnitude 6.8 earthquake off Davao Occidental late afternoon on November 17, 2023. 

Here are the reported intensities:

Intensity VIII - Glan, Sarangani; General Santos City, South Cotabato

Intensity V - Matanao, Davao del Sur; Maasim and Malapatan in Sarangani; Lake Sebu, Tampakan, Polomolok, and Banga in South Cotabato.

Intensity IV - Kidapawan City, Cotabato; Magsaysay and Davao City in Davao del Sur; Don Marcelino and Jose Abad Santos in Davao Occidental; Kiamba and Maitum in Sarangani; Norala and Tantangan, South Cotabato; President Quirino, Lebak, Isulan, Esperanza, Columbio, and Kalamansig in Sultan Kudarat.

The quake was reported initially to be magnitude 7.2 but Phivolcs downgraded it later to magnitude 6.8.

In General Santos City, at least two people were reported dead after a concrete wall collapsed on them at the compound where they worked when the earthquake hit. The quake also damaged structures with photos and videos showing destruction inside at least two malls in the city. 

In one of the malls, a man sustained injuries when he jumped off from the second floor during the earthquake. 

In Sarangani where the epicenter was traced, a video showed items falling to the floor at a store as the ground shook. In Davao City, construction materials slipped off a tower crane and fell to the ground during the quake. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

VISAYAS EXPERIENCE

Bohol and Cebu experienced a magnitude 7.2 quake 10 years ago in 2013 with Sagbayan town in Bohol as the epicenter.

Phivolcs considered the tremor of October 15, 2013 as one of the strongest earthquakes to have hit the country, which posted a death toll of around 200 and over a thousand injured.

To recall, the ground began shaking at past 8 a.m. that destroyed heritage churches such as the Baclayon in Bohol and the belfry of the Basilica del Santo Niño. Houses collapsed, displacing families by the thousands in Cebu and Bohol.

The tremor was so strong that it created a three-meter high wall of rock estimated to be two kilometers long in Sitio Kumayot, Barangay Anonang, Inabanga town, Bohol. 

(With reports from Eleanor Valeros, Jestoni Jumamil, Kent Abrigana, and Ian Zane Esparaga)