July 2, 1954 Earthquake: Sorsogon, Bacon, Legaspi, Luzon, Philippines

July 2, 1954, 10:45 a.m. [local time]. The Sorsogon earthquake of July 2 was felt over a wide area of the Philippines and embraced the provinces of Sorsogon, Albay, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Southern Quezon, and the islands of Samar, Leyte, Masbate, Cebu, Boho, Negros and Panay. The maximum intensity was V in Daet. The center of the earthquake, as determined by instrumental data on its aftershocks by seismographs of the Weather Bureau, Commission on Volcanology, and Manila Observatory, has been located at 380 km southeast of Manila and in the immediate vicinity of the towns of Sorsogon and Bacon. The official report of casualties obtainable at Sorsogon shows that a total of thirteen were killed either by falling debris or were pinned under heavy household furniture. Of the thirteen deaths, eight were in Sorsogon town, four in Bacon, and one in Legaspi city when a laborer fell from a scaffolding he was working on. A total of 101 injured persons were treated at the Sorsogon Provicial Hospital, seven of which were serious cases. Four of the more serious were brought to Manila for needed medical attention. The damage to buildings was essentially limited to old and poorly built structures of bricks and cobbles cemented only by lime mortar. The belfries of the churches at Sorsogon and Bacon collapsed while the rest of the churches remained relatively intact. Other old buildings were only slightly fractured. Water mains in the town of Sorsogon were broken and several electric lines were disconnected. Damage to roads were relatively insignificant. Some minor fissures were noted at Bacon but they were small and hardly affected the utility of the roads. An old Spanish bridge at the provincial road between Bacon and Sorsogon was fractured at the middle and may have to be reconstructed to allow heavier traffic. (reference #4158)

July 2, 1954, 13 deaths, 101 affected. (reference #1250)