6.5 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Off Southern Philippines, No Immediate Damage Reported
A 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck off the southern Philippines on Friday evening, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said, less than three weeks after a major tremor in the same area killed more than 80 people.
The quake hit at 7:42 p.m. local time (11:42 GMT) at a depth of 52.4 kilometres (33 miles) in waters about 35 kilometres southwest of Jose Abad Santos town on Mindanao island, according to the USGS, which revised the magnitude from an initial 6.7.
No tsunami alert was issued, and local officials reported no immediate casualties or damage.
Santa Maria town rescue official Jerson Talahig told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the shaking was strong but brief, causing tables and lights to sway.
The June 8 earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.8, caused widespread destruction in Mindanao, bringing down buildings, triggering landslides, and displacing thousands. It also generated tsunami warnings across the region.
That powerful quake pushed the seabed upwards by two metres along a long stretch of coast, lifting previously submerged coral above water and extending the shoreline by as much as 200 metres in a phenomenon known as coastal uplift.
As of Friday, the June 8 quake had killed 81 people and injured more than 1,300.
Earthquakes are common in the Philippines, which lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of intense seismic activity stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin. The Cotabato Trench, located as close as 50 kilometres off the coast of southern Mindanao, is a frequent source of earthquakes, including a swarm of thousands of mostly small tremors recorded in January.
