02/10/2025
𝐏𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐖𝐄Ñ𝐎𝐒 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐒
Filipinos are no strangers to earthquakes. Seismic activities are inevitably part of our existence because the Philippines has numerous earthquake-prone areas due to its location along the Pacific Ring of Fire, a string of volcanoes and sites of seismic activity and earthquakes around the edges of the Pacific.
Roughly 90 percent of all earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire, an article titled “Plate Tectonics and Ring of Fire” published by the National Geographic website reads. The Ring of Fire is the result of plate tectonics—-huge slabs of Earth’s crust that fit together like pieces of a puzzle. Occasionally these plates collide, move apart, or slide next to each other. Most tectonic activities occur in these geologically active zones.
Tectonic plates are massive, irregularly shaped slabs of solid rock that constitute the Earth's lithosphere. Scientists explained that tectonic plate interaction is among the factors that make our country prone to these seismic activities.
Last night, September 30, 2025, at around 9:59pm, a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 struck Cebu and other Visayas provinces. Its epicenter was located 19 kilometers northeast offshore of Bogo City with an estimated depth of five kilometers. As of this writing, some 69 casualties have been reported. Several towns and cities in the northern part of Cebu are considered heavily affected, while the tremor was also felt in the nearby provinces of Leyte and Biliran in Eastern Visayas.
The Provincial Government of Cebu, through its Sangguniang Panlalawigan, has placed the Province of Cebu under a state of calamity after the powerful earthquake brought down buildings and also cut power across the island province and nearby islands.
PHIVOLCS (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology) said that the Philippines experiences an estimated 100 to 150 earthquakes annually. It also said that the Cebu earthquake was caused by a fault that has not moved for 400 years.
IS IT POSSIBLE THAT AN EARTHQUAKE WILL SHAKE PALAWAN?
Scientists said that an earthquake is possible in Palawan. They explained that earthquakes felt in the island province of Palawan originate from nearby active faults and subduction zones, particularly in the Sulu Sea and Mindoro regions.
The island province of Palawan does experience earthquakes, though rarely and with lower intensity, because it sits on the relatively stable block of the Earth’s crust and away from major fault lines and subduction zones, scientists claimed.
While Palawan is not considered as earthquake-prone as other regions and island provinces in the country due to its location away from major fault lines and active volcanoes, it can still be affected by distant earthquakes and tsunamis triggered from nearby seismic zones. Recent research has confirmed the presence of potential earthquake-generating faults nearby, suggesting that, while a major earthquake is unlikely in Palawan, the region is not entirely safe, and it still requires disaster preparedness.
Via Gerardo Reyes | Palawan Daily News
