Philippines rocked by an earthquake of 6.7 magnitude: USGS

A strong earthquake shook the Philippines on Saturday, the US Geological Survey reported, but it was deep, and local authorities said they did not expect damage.

The 6.7-magnitude quake struck off the main island of Luzon at 4:48 am (2048 GMT) at a depth of 112 kilometres (70 miles), USGS said.

It was followed a few minutes later with a 5.8-magnitude quake in the same region that was also deep.

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“It’s very strong, we’re alarmed,” said police Major Ronnie Aurellano in Calatagan municipality, Batangas province, which is south of Manila and near the epicentre of the quakes.

“It’s raining very hard here as well, but our people here are used to earthquakes. They’re aware of the duck, hold and cover when there’s an earthquake.”

“We’re checking low-lying areas in case there’s a tsunami,” he added.

The Philippine seismological agency said it did not expect damage. And there was no tsunami warning or threat, according to the US Tsunami Warning System.

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“It’s not as strong compared to the previous quakes here — there’s no damage reported to us,” said police Corporal Bernie Faderogao in nearby Mabini.

“Our sliding door was just slightly shaken but it didn’t break.”

The archipelago is regularly rocked by quakes due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.