A STRONG earthquake struck the province of Agusan del Sur in Mindanao on Sunday morning, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

Phivolcs said the Magnitude 6 earthquake occurred at 10:38 a.m., with its epicenter at 19 kilometers from Talacogon, Agusan del Sur.

Phivolcs said Intensity 6 was felt in Talacogon, Agusan del Sur; Intensity 4 in Butuan City, Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur and Tagum City; Intensity 3 in Balingwan, Balingasag and Gingoog in Misamis Oriental, Bislig City and Davao City; Intensity 2 in Cagayan de Oro City and Intensity 1 in Kidapawan City.

Aftershocks and damage were expected as a result of the quake, Phivolcs said.

The agency had updated an earlier report stating that the tectonic quake had a magnitude of 5.7.

While some areas of Mindanao experienced just slight tremors, those closer to the epicenter reported more serious shaking with people fleeing outdoors for fear their houses might collapse. </s> (Updated 12:34 n.n.)

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A 6.0-magnitude earthquake shook Agusan del Sur on Sunday morning, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

Phivolcs said the epicenter of the earthquake, with a depth of six kilometers, was located 19 kilometers from Talacogon, Agusan Del Sur.

The agency updated its earlier report that the quake, which occurred at 10:38 a.m., was of 5.7 magnitude.

The earthquake, which is tectonic in origin, is expected to have caused damages and to have aftershocks.

It was felt in the following towns and cities:

Intensity VI — Talacogon, Agusan del Sur

Intensity IV — Butuan City, Hinatuan in Surigao del Sur and Tagum City

Intensity III — Gingoog in Misamis Oriental, Bislig City, Davao City, Balingwan and Balingasag in Misamis Oriental

Intensity II — Cagayan de Oro City

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Intensity I — Kidapawan City

Instrumental Intensity IV — Bislig City

Instrumental Intensity I — Kidapawan City.

READ: Magnitude 5.2 quake jolts parts of Mindanao

The temblor was also felt in the cities of Tagum, Davao and Panabo.

Locals reported experiencing dizzying movements as the ground shook, with many fearfully rushing out of their homes.

“I was inside my room when the shaking started, which lasted for almost a minute. I felt dizzy so I rushed outside,” said Richard Grande, a local radio broadcaster in San Francisco, Agusan del Sur. Frinston Lim, Inquirer Mindanao

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MOST READ </s> DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/04 Sept) – A magnitude 6 earthquake struck Talacogon in Agusan del Sur at 10:38 a.m. Sunday but there were no reports of deaths, injuries or damages to property.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the quake was felt in neighboring areas, at Intensity 6 in Talacogon, La Paz and Rosario in Agusan del Sur; Intensity 5 in Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur; Intensity 4 in the cities of Butuan and Tagum and in Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur; Intensity 3 in the cities of Davao, Bislig in Surigao del Sur and Gingoog in Misamis Oriental, and in Balingoan and Balingasag towns also in Misamis Oriental.

The quake was also felt at Intensity 2 in Cagayan de Oro City and Intensity 1 in Kidapawan City.

Ten more quakes were recorded by Phivolcs with epicenter also in Talacogon at Magnitue 3.1 at 10:49 a.m.; 3.8 at 3.15 p.m.; 3.5 at 3:29 p.m.; 4.6 at 3:54 p.m.; 3.3 at 4:04 p.m.; 2.8 at 4:37 p.m.; 2.9 at 4:54 p.m.; 3.1 at 5:04 p.m.; 2.4 at 5:15 p.m. and 2.8 at 5:20 p.m. (MindaNews) </s> A 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the Philippines early Saturday, officials said, damaging several buildings and injuring two people as panicked residents fled the coast following a tsunami warning.

US authorities warned of potential hazardous waves in the southern region of Mindanao and Indonesia after the quake hit at 4:23 a.m., but the tsunami alert was lifted less than two hours later.

Residents were jolted from their beds and ran onto the streets as the earthquake shook the area, leaving cracks in a hospital, two government buildings and a port, as well as triggering the collapse of at least one house and causing a brief power outage.

“The floor appeared to rise first before swaying violently from side to side. Then the lights went out,” said Adrian Morallas, who was at work at the civil defense office in General Santos city at the time of the quake.

“I ducked and took cover under my desk in line with our disaster training, though it was very difficult to do that in the dark with the ground shaking.”

Morallas said coastal communities near General Santos were told to evacuate as a precaution, though authorities do not know how many people actually left their homes.

The quake struck at a depth of 41 kilometers (25 miles) off Mindanao island, the US Geological Service said.

The state-run Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology gave a higher magnitude reading of 7.2. The epicenter was about 53 kilometers off Mindanao’s south coast, it added.

 READ: Strong magnitude 7.2 quake rocks Mindanao

“We do not expect major damage after this event,” the institute’s head Renato Solidum said on ABS-CBN television in Manila.

Morallas said two people were injured during the evacuations in the Mindanao coastal towns of Glan and Malapatan.

One person was hit by a falling rock while a pregnant woman hurt herself when she fell.

The Philippines lies on the so-called Ring of Fire, a vast Pacific Ocean region where many of Earth’s quakes and volcanic eruptions occur.

A 6.0-magnitude earthquake damaged dozens of houses on central Mindanao on April 12, while a trio of strong quakes battered buildings and caused panicked tourists to flee a popular resort near Manila on April 8.

A 6.5-magnitude quake killed eight people and left more than 250 injured outside the Mindanao city of Surigao in February, and another 5.9-magnitude tremor killed one person there last month.

Before Surigao, the last lethal earthquake to hit the country was a 7.1-magnitude tremor that left more than 220 people dead and destroyed historic churches when it struck the central islands in October 2013.
A 6.0 magnitude earthquake strikes Agusan del Sur province in Mindanao island.