Powerful 7.0 magnitude earthquake strikes off the coast of the Philippines
- The 7.0 magnitude struck on Thursday night some 210 kilometres southeast of Pondaguitan in the Davao Occidental province of the Philippines
- It was reportedly felt in nearby cities and provinces in the region
- No tsunami warning has been issued and authorities said quake was too deep to cause major damage
A powerful 7.0-magnitude earthquake shook parts of the southern Philippines on Thursday night.
The quake measured a preliminary 7.0 magnitude and was located 95.8 kilometres (60 miles) below the sea and about 210 kilometres (130 miles) southeast of Pondaguitan in Davao Occidental province, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The earthquake was felt in nearby cities and provinces in the region, located on the main southern island of Mindanao, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
However, the USGS said there was a low likelihood of casualties or damage. The U.S. Tsunami Warning System said there was no tsunami threat. Deep earthquakes generally cause less damage on the Earth’s surface.
Residents in Jose Abad Santos town near the southern tip of the island lost electricity for about 15 minutes after the quake shook the region but there was no damage, police chief Captain Glabynarry Murillo told AFP news agency.
‘From our vantage point at the police station we saw many residents rushing outside,’ said Murillo.
‘We also rushed outside because the police station is a three-storey building.’
A powerful 7.0-magnitude earthquake shook parts of the southern Philippines on Thursday night. The quake measured a preliminary 7.0 magnitude and was located 95.8 kilometres (60 miles) below the sea and about 210 kilometres (130 miles) southeast of Pondaguitan in Davao Occidental province, the U.S. Geological Survey said
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology warned of aftershocks but said damage was not expected.
‘It was felt extensively because it’s a major earthquake but it’s deep so it won’t be damaging to the infrastructure because it’s considerably far (from the island),’ Renato Solidum, director of the institute, told DZBB radio station.
The southern Davao region has been battered by powerful earthquakes set off by local fault lines in recent years.
The Philippines lies along the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of faults around the Pacific Ocean where most of the world’s earthquakes occur.
It is also lashed by about 20 typhoons and tropical storms each year, making it one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.
A magnitude 7.7 quake killed nearly 2,000 people in the northern Philippines in 1990.
The southern Davao region has been battered by powerful earthquakes set off by local fault lines in recent years. The Philippines lies along the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of faults around the Pacific Ocean where most of the world’s earthquakes occur
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