Magnitude 5.7 Earthquake Hits Luzon

Every netizen was perhaps busy checking Twitter for live updates on the Philippine Azkals and Myanmar's White Angels when a magnitude 5.7 earthquake rocked parts of Luzon including Metro Manila. PhiVolcs said the quake was recorded at 6:37 PM (March 21, 2011) with epicenter at 12 km northeast of Lubang Island in Mindoro

Just a day before, a magnitude 6.9 quake also hit Northern Luzon.

The quake happened almost the same time when James Younghusband scored a goal against Myanmar that every football fan was joking he caused the earthquake. Another joke was that every Filipino cheered and jumped at the same time causing the earth to shake. (The match was a draw, btw, with both teams scoring 1 goal each.)

The earthquake was felt at:

Intensity IV: Manila City; Marikina City; Talisay, Batangas; Tagaytay City;

Intensity III: Quezon City; Alabang; Makati; Taguig; Malabon; Bacoor, Cavite; Lubang Island;San Jose, Mindoro Occidental; Abra de Ilog; Calapan, Mindoro Occidental;

Intensity II: Lucban, Quezon; Plaridel, Bulacan; Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija; Baguio City.

A friend of mine, who lives in a high rise condo in Makati immediately Tweeted she panicked and couldn't think of what to do while the building was swaying. But another friend who works at Mall of Asia says she felt it but it was so weak that other people at the mall didn't even know there was an earthquake.

Being in Taguig which was reported to have felt an intensity 3 earthquake, I didn't feel anything while inside our home. I only learned of the quake on Twitter when GMA News tweeted about it.

It's actually a good thing I wasn't inside a high rise building when it happened. I bet I'd also panic and would forget about the earthquake how-to's I'd been taught while being swayed by the building I was in.

I guess there's nothing else we could do at these times of calamities but pray. As I always say, prayers work wonders.