Media quick in reporting Abra quake, follow-up needed

IN THE MORNING OF July 27, a magnitude 7 quake shook parts of Luzon, its epicenter in the northern province of Abra. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) initially pegged the earthquake's magnitude at 7.3, and reported that it had occurred at 8:43 am, but later downgraded the quake to magnitude 7. It was felt mainly in Northern Luzon but reached the country's capital, Manila, more than 400