Two earthquakes that struck within 34 minutes of each other were recorded in the vicinity of Sipalay City last night. The first incident, a 3.2-magnitude tremor, occurred just north of the Negros Occidental locality at 12:09 a.m.; the second quake, which measured 2.9 in magnitude, also struck north of the city and was detected around 12:43 a.m.
Subsequent Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) bulletins disclosed there were no damages reported as a result of either earthquake.
Earlier this month, a 2.7-magnitude earthquake was detected in the waters off the coast of Sipalay City.
Quakes ranging between 1.0 and 3.0 in magnitude are often classified as a Level 1 on the Mercalli Intensity Scale, where the tremor goes almost undetected; meanwhile, those that range between 3.0 and 3.9 in magnitude are considered between a Level II and III, where a few people feel the tremor, particularly those on the upper floors of buildings.
While the epicenters of both earthquakes were pinpointed north of the town, Phivolcs did not identify the second quake as an aftershock of the preceding tremor./WDJ