Manilla - Four moderate tremors struck the country Thursday, just hours after a strong quake hit Taiwan and two days after a strong earthquake occurred in the Cagayan area.

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake hit the region around Batanes, the Philippines' northernmost province, at 10:08 a.m. Thursday, with the epicenter estimated at 48 kilometers southeast of Basco, the capital.

The quake had a shallow depth of 7 kilometers, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

It was tectonic in origin and was felt as intensity 3 in Basco.

The second earthquake with a magnitude of 3 occurred near the island province of Camiguin at around 12:16 a.m.

The epicenter was estimated at 25 kilometers northeast of Mambajao, and was felt as intensity 1 in Mambajao.

The quake had a shallow depth of 33 kilometers and was tectonic in origin. No damage was reported and no aftershocks are expected, Phivolcs said.

The third earthquake occurred at 12:30 p.m. with the epicenter estimated at 18 kilometers northeast of Cataingan, Masbate, the Phivolcs said.

The quake, also tectonic in origin, was measured at magnitude 4.5 with a shallow depth of 31 kilometers. It was felt as intensity 4 in Cataingan, intensity 3 in Palanas, intensity 2 in Masbate City and intensity 1 in Tabon, Juban, Sorsogon.

A minute later, another quake struck the Masbate area with a magnitude of 2.6. The epicenter was estimated at 32 kilometers southeast of Masbate with a shallow depth of 17 kilometers. It was felt as intensity 2 in Cataingan.

Phivolcs said the likely source of this quake was the Masbate segment of the Philippine Fault Zone, considered one of the longest in the world.

Last Tuesday, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck the Cagayan area, the strongest quake so far to have hit the country in 2010.

Also Thursday, a magnitude 6.4 quake occurred near Tai-tung in Taiwan at around 8:18 a.m.

The Manila Economic and Cultural Office (Meco), the Philippines' de facto embassy in Taipei, said there were no reports of casualties among the estimated 75,000 Filipinos living in Taiwan.

Meco Resident Representative Antonio I. Basilio said in a statement that the quake's epicenter was in Chia Hsien, Kaohsiung County, about 45 minutes' drive from Kaohsiung City where Meco maintains an office.

The quake was also felt in varying degrees of intensity between 1 and 4 in the rest of Taiwan, according to the Taipei government.

Basilio said there were no reports of casualties and no major structural damage in Kaohsiung buildings, although the operations of the Kaohsiung MRT and several train routes were suspended because of rock fall.

"Fortunately, Taiwan has heightened preparedness for natural disasters like this and its building codes to help ensure structural integrity against earthquakes are among the world's most stringent," he said.

With Cynthia D. Balana