by: JUANCHO RODRIGUEZ

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) is now giving priority and conducting close monitoring of the Negros Trench following five earthquakes, the strongest one at a 5.2-magnitude, that hit Negros Island, both Oriental and Occidental, early Tuesday morning.

PHIVOLCS’ 24-hour watch continues following the last tremor hit on Tuesday at 10:10 a.m. The epicenter of the earthquakes was offshore and believed to have been caused by sudden movements along the earthquake-generating Negros Trench, said Ishmael Narag, chief of PHIVOLCS, who is based in Bacolod PHIVOLCS believes that a subduction occurred where heavier denser plates dove into the interior of the earth, triggering five earthquakes recorded in Cauayan and Bago City in Negros Occidental. Read more