Strong magnitude 6.4 earthquake strikes Mindanao, Philippines

A strong 6.4-magnitude earthquake shook the southern Philippines on Saturday (Sept 8), sending frightened residents fleeing from buildings, officials and eyewitnesses said. The quake struck off the coast of the southern town of Manay at about 3.16pm at a depth of 14km, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said in a statement.

The institute said it expects the earthquake to have caused some damage but it and the local civil defense office said there were no immediate reports of serious destruction. “A lot of people ran from their homes because a lot of items were falling inside,” Phivolcs science researcher John Deximo told AFP. READ MORE