MANILA - The recent series of earthquakes in Batangas City will not trigger a movement of the West Valley Fault, which is "ripe" for a major earthquake, the country's chief state seismologist said Monday.

The West Valley Fault -- which runs through the cities of Marikina, Pasig and Muntinlupa -- is capable of generating a magnitude-7.2 quake that could kill up to 34,000 people and injure 100,000 others, a 2004 study said.

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Speculations that the powerful earthquake would soon occur spread on social media over the weekend after a fault in Mabini, Batangas moved and caused 3 strong temblors.

But Renato Solidum, director of Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) told radio DZMM: "Ang nangyari pong pagkilos ng fault sa Mabini, Batangas ay hindi po magti-trigger ng pagkilos ng West Valley Fault."

"Unang-una, hindi sila konektado. Pangalawa, maliliit lang ang lindol para mag-usad ng lupa na naapektuhan ng West Valley Fault ," he added.

(The fault movement in Mabini, Batangas will not trigger a movement of the West Vallet Fault. First of all, they are not linked. Second, the quakes were not strong enough to affect the West Valley Fault.)

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The fault line in Mabini lies underneath a volcano and is only capable of generating moderate-sized earthquakes like Saturday's tremors.

"Iyung Mabini area ay dating part ng volcano kaya nga geothermal iyan e. Maganda rin iyun kasi sa isang banda, iyung bato sa ilalim, hindi masyadong matigas dahil mainit," Solidum explained.

"'Pag malambot nang kaunti, hindi siya pwedeng mag-ipon ng napakalaking energy. Hanggang moderate-sized earthquakes lang ang kaya niyang maipon at ma-release."

(The Mabini area used to be part of a volcano, that is why it is a geothermal area. That's good because on one hand, the bedrock underneath cannot harden because of the heat. Softer ground would mean that it cannot store vast amounts of energy so it can only release power for moderate-sized earthquakes.)

The Phivolcs director urged the public not to cause panic by spreading false information about the quakes.

Three earthquakes struck Batangas province on Saturday afternoon, damaging several buildings and sending panicked residents scurrying to safer ground.

Hundreds of residents of coastal areas fled to higher ground fearing a tsunami -- an event that is unlikely because the "earthquake swarm" was not powerful enough, Phivolcs said.

Batangas officials said there were no reports of casualties, but power was cut in some areas and cracks were reported in homes and some commercial buildings.

Landslides were also reported in some towns while portions of several buildings collapsed.

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