The flow of people in Calatagan, Batangas was not disrupted despite being the epicenter of the magnitude 6.3 earthquake that was also felt in most of the areas in Metro Manila on Thursday morning.

This was stressed by Amor Calayan, head of Batangas Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) based on the initial assessment made by the local government following the quake.

"As of the moment, the situation here in Calatagan, actually I'm here in Calatagan now. And upon the damage assessment what we can see is that the regular flow of the people walking on the street and there were no reported major damages," she said.

"And as of this moment (the assessment is) still ongoing. There are some fine lines struck that we could see from the school, and some are from the houses but those crusts seem to be negligible and manageable," she added.

Calayan also mentioned that there are some schools that have declared suspension of classes.

"I haven't gone to the school yet and I've heard that some other schools have announced the suspension of the classes," she said.

Calayan said they are planning to visit schools and communities near the shoreline to also check their situation as part of their assessment.

"Luckily everything is in good condition. But because we are in this position, we would like to go as far as going and reaching the people at the side of the shore, so that we will be able to see and actually have our damage inspection again," she said. Robina Asido/DMS