Philippines rocked by 2 strong earthquakes
- First quake, 6.0-magnitude, struck at about 2pm local time in southern mountainous province of Davao de Oro on island of Mindanao
- Shallower second quake hit around three hours later in neighbouring municipality of New Bataan, with villagers having to evacuate and houses collapsing
Two strong earthquakes jolted the southern Philippines on Tuesday, authorities said, with the second damaging buildings and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of villagers from their homes.
A 6.0-magnitude quake struck at about 2pm (0600 GMT), a few kilometres from Maragusan municipality in the mountainous gold-mining province of Davao de Oro on Mindanao island, the US Geological Survey said.
Local authorities said there were no reports of casualties or significant damage.
But a shallower second quake, measuring 5.6 magnitude, hit nearly three hours later in the neighbouring municipality of New Bataan, triggering the collapse of some houses.
New Bataan disaster officer Lynne Dollolasa said nearly 300 people were forced to leave their homes in Andap village, where “a number of houses collapsed”.
About 100 people inside a shopping centre in Tagum city, in the adjacent province of Davao del Norte, were hit by falling glasses and plates as they fled the building, said Jay Suaybaguio, the provincial information officer.