The U.S. Geological Survey announced that a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck the coast of the southern Philippines on Wednesday. There was no tsunami warning issued, and no initial reports of casualties or damage.
The US agency said that the earthquake, which it initially recorded at a magnitude of 6.7, occurred at a depth of 58.5 kilometers, about 27 kilometers east of the town of Santiago on Mindanao Island.
In a statement to Agence France-Presse, “Nash Baragas,” a paramedic working in Davao Oriental province, said that he had not received any immediate reports of injuries or damage, adding: “There was a shake. I saw some cars moving, but I think it was only for a short time, about 5 seconds.”
It is noteworthy that eastern Mindanao witnessed two earthquakes last October with magnitudes of 7.4 and 6.7, which resulted in the death of at least 8 people.
Days earlier, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake killed 76 people and destroyed or damaged 72,000 homes in Cebu Province in the central Philippines, according to official government figures.
The Philippines experiences frequent earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an area of intense seismic activity that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia to the Pacific basin.
