7.2-magnitude earthquake hits the Philippines? The authorities clarify after a post spread on Facebook – News

The post urged people to prepare by unplugging electrical appliances at home, but did not give an exact date for when the alleged earthquake might have occurred.

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Via AFP

Posted: Wed, Apr 19, 2023, 5:03 PM

After two consecutive earthquakes rocked the southern Philippines in March 2023, false posts warning of a larger earthquake centered on the archipelago’s highest mountain began circulating on Facebook. The Philippine Seismological Agency and the local government authority said in separate posts that they did not release the message.

The false warning was uploaded hours after a series of strong earthquakes rocked the mountainous gold-mining province of Davao de Oro on the island of Mindanao on March 7, AFP reported here.

The post, posted on Visayan-language Facebook on March 8, translates into English as follows: “I am reminding everyone to prepare for the upcoming 7.2-magnitude earthquake that Phivolks warned of.”

Phivolcs is a Philippine government agency that provides information on earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis.

The post continued, “The local government in Kidapawan held a meeting earlier today and they only talked about this earthquake.

“They said that the side of Mount Apo that will be the epicenter needs to be blown up to relieve the pressure inside and reduce the impact of the quake,” they added.

Kidapawan City, the capital of North Cotabato Province in Mindanao, is located at the foot of Mt. Apo, which is a dormant stratovolcano and is the highest peak in the archipelago country.

The post also urged people to prepare by unplugging electrical appliances at home, but did not give an exact date for when the alleged earthquake might have occurred.

“Let us all always pray, brothers and sisters, including everyone affected by the earthquake,” the statement read. “God bless everyone, be prepared. Please pass this on to others so they are aware. Thanks.”

Several Facebook posts shared the same false warning, with comments from some users indicating that they believed the claim.

“I hope we can find out when this will happen so we can prepare. This is so scary,” one user commented.

Another said, “I’m having chills. Let’s all take care and pray.”

The Philippines is regularly rocked by earthquakes because of its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific Basin.

However, both Phivolcs and the local government in Kidapawan said the allegations in the Facebook posts were false.

Fake alert

“The posts are wrong. DOST-PHIVOLCS has not issued any warnings regarding a 7.2-magnitude earthquake with epicenter on Mount Apo,” a Phivolcs representative told AFP.

Responding to the publication’s claims that blasting the alleged epicenter could lessen its impact, Vivoleks said: “No, this is dangerous because it could trigger landslides.”

A day after the leaflets were posted online, the Kidapawan city government issued a statement denying that they had made a plan to blow up part of Mount Apo because of the false earthquake warning.

“This information is incorrect and this is fake news,” she said in a Tagalog-language post on Facebook.

“It is best to check the information first and we advise netizens not to post these messages and other baseless information to avoid spreading panic.”

Speaking to AFP in March, Vivolex geologist Jeffrey Perez said it was impossible to know when and where an earthquake would occur.

“Earthquakes are still unpredictable, which is why we need to always be prepared,” he said.

Fake alerts of natural disasters circulate regularly on social media in the Philippines.

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