A 5.4 magnitude earthquake hit Philippines province of Batangas on Tuesday evening causing damage in churches and commercial establishments, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.
The epicenter of the quake, which struck at 8:58 pm, was located in 7 kilometers northwest of Tingloy in Batangas province, south of Manila, at a depth of 5 kilometers. The tremor was also felt in parts of Metro Manila and south Luzon.
Renato Solidum, Director of Phivolcs said there was no threat of a tsunami but aftershocks are expected. "We don't expect significant damage in many areas but we need to make sure that the other areas near the epicenter would report there are slight damages. At this stage, the highest intensity reported so far is intensity VI in Batangas City, and the rest will be much lower," Solidum told CNN Philippines.
The social media was immediately flooded with tweets and reports of the earthquake, with some even relating it to international band Coldplay's concert.
The Philippines sits on the highly seismically active zone "Pacific Ring of Fire" where many continental plates on the earth's crust keep colliding. Hence, it experiences frequent earthquakes.
The last lethal earthquake to hit the country before the February 10 quake was a 7.1-magnitude tremor that left over 220 people dead and destroyed historic churches when it struck the central islands in October 2013.
