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News about the latest earthquake in the Philippines.

“5 PM February 5, 2012, the volcano in Matarinao, Salcedo Eastern Samar will blow off. Expected magnitude will be higher than 12. Places in sea level area are advised to go to open spaces… from PHIVOLCS personnel monitoring the mentioned underwater volcano… Please pass.” This was the text I received from a friend last February 4th. I was hesitant to believe in it but I still forwarded it to some friends the following day. “We lose nothing if we believe in it…,” according to a friend’s reply.

At exactly 12NN in my clock on February 6th, I felt the shaking of my table. Then there was also a cracking sound from the ceiling. Earthquake! When I thought of the text I received a few days ago, I felt terrified. I ran out of my room to check if others also felt it. “It’s hard not to feel it because of its loud sound like ‘running bulls’ on the ceiling,” one friend said. TV and internet reports confirmed that an earthquake indeed struck the central region of the Philippines at almost 12 noon on February 6, 2012.

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According to a report from Associated Press as republished in boston.com, one child was killed in Negros Oriental when a concrete fence collapsed. Later that day, there were already 7 people found dead after the earthquake.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology issued the tsunami alert at level for the central region of the Philippines, indicating that the earthquake could trigger a 3-foot (1-meter) wave. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue a warning, however.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was centered 44 miles (72 kilometers) north of Dumaguete city on Negros Island in the central Philippines. It hit at a depth of 29 miles (46 kilometers).

People rushed out of schools, malls and offices during the quake in Cebu City according to some friends. The quake was noted to last for 30 seconds. School and work were suspended in some areas.

One mall in San Carlos city in Negros Occidental province was also said to be damaged by the shaking.

Here are the rest of the earthquake details from http://earthquake.usgs.gov/:

Magnitude: 6.7

TIME & DATE: Monday, February 06, 2012 at 11:49:16 AM at epicenter

LOCATION: 9.964°N, 123.246°E

72 km (44 miles) N of Dumaguete, Negros, Philippines
74 km (45 miles) WNW of Tagbilaran, Bohol, Philippines
80 km (49 miles) WSW of Cebu, Cebu, Philippines
569 km (353 miles) SSE of MANILA, Philippines