Phivolcs: Back-to-back quakes in Davao Oriental a ‘doublet earthquake’
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Phivolcs: Back-to-back quakes in Davao Oriental a ‘doublet earthquake’
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Friday said the magnitude 7.4 and 6.8 tremors that struck off Davao Oriental may possibly be considered a “doublet earthquake.”
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A doublet earthquake, according to Phivolcs, refers to distinct or different earthquakes that occurred in almost the same area “with two (or more) main shocks that have slight difference in magnitude.”
“This happens when faults or trenches are causing the stress to trigger a sequence of events,” Phivolcs said in a statement.
According to Phivolcs, this is not the first time a doublet earthquake occurred in the Philippine Trench—in 2023, a magnitude 7.4 and 6.8 doublet earthquake also occurred in Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur.
The same happened in 1992, when magnitude 7.1 and 7.5 quakes also struck Manay, Davao Oriental.
However, Phivolcs said it is still analyzing the earthquake parameters “to further characterize” the two recent tectonic events.
The epicenter of the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck on Friday morning was located 62 kilometers southeast of Manay, Davao Oriental, while the magnitude 6.9 temblor that hit less than 10 hours later was traced 36 kilometers southeast of the same town.
Is a bigger one coming?
Are these foreshocks? Another big one expected?
When asked in a press conference if this doublet earthquake could simply be a foreshock to a bigger earthquake, Phivolcs director Teresito Bacolcol responded that this is possible.
Bacolcol cited a similar event in Japan, particularly the magnitude 9.0 Tōhoku earthquake on March 11, 2011, which was preceded by several foreshocks.
However, Bacolcol also noted that data from previous similar tectonic events in the Philippine Trench suggest otherwise.
“From what we’ve seen here, just like in 2023, there weren’t any bigger events after that,” Bacolcol said in Filipino, referring to the Hinatuan earthquakes in 2023.
“And the determination of whether an earthquake is a foreshock can only be made in hindsight, as it can only be classified as such if a larger earthquake occurs afterward,” he added.
Bacolcol then reiterated that there is no technology to predict earthquakes yet.
He also once again stressed that these two recent earthquakes in Davao Oriental were in no way related to other recent earthquakes in Cebu, La Union, and Baguio. /mr /atm
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