2 Strong quakes hit Philippines

Two strong quakes struck this morning parts of Bicol region in Philippines, injuring at least nine people and sending others rushing outside in panic, officials said. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismolgy said the first quake measuring magnitude 5.2 in the Richter scale, which was tectonic in origin, struck three kilometers north of Masbate City in Masbate province. Large numbers of people rushed out of homes, offices, hospitals and schools and stayed in the streets as a number of aftershocks rattled nerves after the quake, (Philippine Star) website reported. Seven minutes after, another quake struck Masbate City in almost the same spot. The quake measured magnitude 3.7. Masbate City Mayor Socrates Tuason said in a television news interview that several buildings in the city showed cracks after the eartquake. Masbate Vice Governor Vince Revil said local authorities are assessing the situation in areas hit by the quakes. The earthquakes came a month after 58 people died in a quake in the Western Visayas.