13/10/2025
Dear students, please read! ‼️‼️‼️
𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 | 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴?
Facebook posts about the recent earthquakes have been surfacing, saying that the Pacific Ring of Fire is “waking up” and “roaring,” causing the seismic activities. But it is certainly not because of these reasons. In fact, it has always been active; it just so happens that the country became a victim of a series of disastrous earthquakes.
In the last 11 days, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) has recorded high-magnitude seismic events all over the map. The chain of earthquakes began with a magnitude 6.9 in Bogo, Cebu, on September 30. Succeeded by a magnitude 4.8 in Pugo, La Union, on October 9 and a doublet earthquake of magnitudes 7.4 and 6.8 located in Davao Oriental the following day. And, yesterday, October 11, another earthquake of magnitude 4.9 struck the town of Cabangan in Zambales and nearby areas.
Are these earthquakes connected with one another?
According to reports, the triggers of the continuous earthquakes are from different sources. The Cebu earthquake was caused by surface ruptures and fault scarps in the Bogo Bay Fault. The La Union earthquake was due to a movement of an active fault around the area. While the earthquakes in Davao and Zambales were due to a tectonic movement in the Philippine and Manila Trenches, respectively.
Rather than a “pattern,” what actually caused them is the geographical location of the country. The Philippines lies in the Ring of Fire, a tectonic belt along the Pacific Ocean containing 75% of Earth’s volcanoes and approximately where 90% of the world’s earthquakes occur due to the movement of its eight major tectonic plates, which include the Philippine Plate. It is always active, hence the daily earthquakes in the country.
As per PHIVOLCS Director Teresito Bacolcol, “These occurrences are merely coincidental, as the Philippines is a seismically active country,” stressing that the earthquakes are not related to each other.
Going back, these earthquakes are not connected, nor did the first occurrence trigger the others. It is just a coincidental sequence of massive earthquakes caused by natural tectonic plate movements in the Earth’s surface.
What should “wake up” are those causing fear to the Filipino people through misinformation. As creators with a wide audience reach and platform, they should be the ones instilling alertness with factual information to everyone.
In times of natural disaster events, the community should be ready, aware, and informed, for these events may strike homes anytime at the moment.
References:
De Vera-Ruiz, E. (2025). Magnitude 4.8 quake jolts La Union; Intensity V felt in Baguio City [Review of Magnitude 4.8 quake jolts La Union; Intensity V felt in Baguio City]. Manila Bulletin. https://mb.com.ph/2025/10/09/magnitude-48-quake-jolts-la-union-intensity-v-felt-in-baguio-city
Macatuno, A. M. (2025). Magnitude 4.8 earthquake strikes La Union. INQUIRER.net. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2122074/magnitude-4-8-earthquake-strikes-la-union
Manahan, J. (2025). What is a doublet earthquake? Phivolcs explains twin quakes that rattled Davao | ABS-CBN News. ABS-CBN. https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/11/what-is-a-doublet-earthquake-phivolcs-explains-twin-quakes-that-rattled-davao-1214
National Geographic Society. (2023). Ring of Fire | National Geographic Society. Education.nationalgeographic.org; National Geographic. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/ring-fire/
Sarao, Z. (2025). Phivolcs: Davao Oriental earthquake not related to Cebu tremor. INQUIRER.net. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2123015/phivolcs-davao-oriental-earthquake-not-related-to-cebu-tremor
Shankar, P. (2025). Massive earthquakes in Philippines: What we know so far. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/10/tsunami-warning-after-7-4-earthquake-off-philippines-what-we-know
Written by: Franz Keiah Mendoza
Layout by: Jamie Cristine Paat
