PHIVOLCS tells public to be vigilant amid quakes being detected in Cordillera, Isabela

Tabuk City, Kalinga – The PHIVOLCS has reminded the public to be prepared and vigilant as swarms of earthquakes have been detected near the border area of Isabela, Ifugao, and Mountain Province.

An earthquake swarm refers to a sequence of minor earthquakes occurring in a confined area over a brief period due to the movement of an active fault in the region. Unlike typical earthquake patterns, it only involves numerous small tremors with no clear main shock.

Said quake was first detected at 10:08 PM on June 1, 2025.

As of June 4 at 8:00 AM, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS-DOST) logs a total of 416 earthquakes in the said areas. Of these, 135 were located and had magnitudes from 1.2 to 3.6, at depths of 2 to 39 kilometers.

In an interview with a local media, Paulo Sawi, PHIVOLCS Science Research Analyst explained that the tremors are associated with a local fault line, underscoring safety and the need to stay prepared.

“We are still checking which fault line is involved, looking into the trend of this local fault. There is no cause for alarm, but stay prepared and practice safety protocols such as the ‘duck, cover, and hold’ procedure during earthquakes,” Sawi said.

In the past years, Abra experienced successive earthquakes before the destructive magnitude 7.0 earthquake on July 27, 2022. The quake displaced 1,729 families and injured 86 individuals, with the tragic death of one student.

Other recorded quakes in Abra included the magnitude 6.4 earthquake that occurred on October 25, 2022, just three months after the July quake, followed by smaller tremors in 2024—including in Lagayan (3.5) on April 28, Calaba (4.2) on May 18, Bangued (3.7) on December 9, and Peñarrubia (3.5) on December 10.