July 16, 2000 Earthquake: Basco, Mount Irada, Batan Islands, Philippines

Six people injured, many houses damaged and utilities disrupted; a church and some houses damaged at Basco; a highway blocked by a landslide on Mount Irada, Batan Islands. Recorded (1 JMA) on Iriomote- jima, Ryukyu Islands. (reference #1053)

At 11:21 AM on July 16, 2000, a Ms 6.4 earthquake occurred 30 km SE of Batan Island. The earthquake caused serious damage to two villages (Imnajbu and Itbud) in the town of Uyugan in the island of Batan which is nearest the epicenter. In these villages, damages to about 85% of the Ivatan houses and landslides with volumes of about 1000 cu.m. were observed. Smaller volume landslides were spread along the highways and other interior parts of the island. Another town which sustained significant damage although not as serious as Uyugan was the town of Ivana. Ivana is located at the opposite side of the island at about 5 km west of Uyugan. The church, which was built in 1795, sustained cracks but was not significantly damaged. In this town, about 50% of the houses were damaged. In the town of Mahatao, located NE of Ivana, the church likewise cracked and two life-size statues toppled. In the capital town of Basco, only the Ivatan-type dwellings were damaged while the modern-type houses and government buildings were spared. However, the façade, belltower and bell of the centuryold Santo Domingo Church fell. There were also small volume landslides in the slopes of Iraya Volcano which damaged the water pipeline just like during the 1970 earthquake. Southwest of Batan island is the island of Sabtang. In a survey in three villages (Chavayan, Savidug and Sinakan), the PHIVOLCS investigative team found out that the most heavily damaged was the village of Chavayan where 87% of the houses were damaged. (reference #10958)