A strong, shallow earthquake struck a mountainous region in the southeastern Philippines on Wednesday, but there were no immediate reports of damage or major injuries, authorities said.
The 6.1-magnitude quake, which was triggered by a local fault, struck about 14 kilometers 8.7 miles northeast of New Bataan city in the coastal province of Davao de Oro at a depth of 6, 8 miles, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.
Several southern cities and provinces were shaken by the quake, the government institute said, adding that it expected aftershocks.
CALIFORNIA EARTHQUAKE ON NEW YEARS DAY DAMAGE TO AT LEAST 20 APARTMENTS
No immediate injuries or major damage were reported when a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck the southeastern Philippines on Wednesday.
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Davao de Oro Governor Dorothy Gonzaga suspended classes and most government work in the province on Thursday to allow inspections of buildings for possible damage. The province of more than 700,000 people is in a region that was still recovering from heavy rains and flooding last week.
The Philippines lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of fault lines around the Pacific Ocean where most of the world’s earthquakes occur. It is also hit by about 20 typhoons and tropical storms each year, making it one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world.
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake killed nearly 2,000 people in the northern Philippines in 1990.
