Earthquake!!

David and I were sitting in the living room last night, talking on the phone to Camella, when our couch felt like it was bumping up and down. At first, I thought, "What are the neighbors doing?!" But then David said, "We are having an earthquake!" I felt kind of dizzy for awhile afterward, but it only lasted a few seconds. Our first earthquake! We heard later it was 5.6 on the Richter scale and the epicenter was about 30 kilometers out in Manila Bay, which is why it was so mild. However, from 17 stories up, mild was NOT what I was thinking!

From the news:
MANILA, Philippines–A magnitude 5.7 quake jolted parts of Luzon, including Metro Manila, on
Wednesday night.
Renato Solidum, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs),
said that the epicenter of the earthquake was at 22 kilometers west of Calatagan town in
Batangas or about 14 kilometers north-northwest of Barangay (village) Wawa in Puerto Galera
in Oriental Mindoro, according to the US Geological Services, with a depth of 36 km.
Solidum said the earthquake was felt at intensity V in Puerto Galera and Batangas City and at
intensity IV in Bulacan as well as in Mandaluyong and Malabon cities in the National Capital
Region.
In Quezon City, the tremor was felt at intensity III. At these intensities, objects indoors would
be seen swaying due to the quake.
Radio and TV reports said the quake was also felt in Makati and Pasig cities.
Solidum said that they had yet to determine the exact source of the earthquake, which struck
at 7:52 p.m.
“Initially we are looking at the possible movement of the Lubang fault. But it could also be the
Manila Trench,” he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Aftershocks may be expected because of the magnitude of the temblor.The Philippines sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where continental plates collide causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.