Deadly earthquake strikes southern Philippines

A powerful earthquake has struck near the Philippine city of Davao, killing at least one person and causing several injuries. This was the latest in a series of tremors to strike the southern part of the country recently.

The magnitude 6.8 earthquake on Sunday was centred 60 kilometres (38 miles) southwest of Davao on the island of Mindanao at a depth of 30km (18 miles), the US Geological Survey said, revising it down from an earlier 6.9.
A six-year-old girl died after a wall collapsed on her, Vincent Fernandez, mayor of Matanao town in the southern Philippines, told local radio.

In northwest Padada town, Ricardo Jalad, who heads the Office of Civil Defence, said a three-story building collapsed as the ground shook and authorities were checking if people were trapped inside.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no tsunami threat from the earthquake.

Anthony Allada, public information officer of Magsaysay town in Davao del Sur province near the epicentre, said 14 people were injured but none seriously. Roads and buildings, including the local government office, were damaged and power was out in the town, he said.

The region was shaken by four powerful quakes in October and November, which together killed at least 20 people.

"We don't know what to do anymore. Do we respond first or attend to our families first?" Allada told DZMM radio.

President Rodrigo Duterte, who is from Davao, was in the city when the earthquake struck.

"He is ok. He and his daughter Kitty were in their house when the quake struck," presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said. "First Lady Honeylet was on her way home when the ground trembled. She said her car was swaying. She is unhurt."
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said damage and aftershocks could be expected.

Several strong aftershocks were recorded after the main tremor, the strongest a magnitude 5.7 centred north of General Santos City.

Radio DZMM reported power was out in General Santos City, where patients at a local hospital were being evacuated.

Video footage of the earthquake posted by users on Twitter showed electrical wires swaying and erupting in a shower of sparks. Another video showed water sloshing out of a hotel swimming pool.

The Philippine archipelago lies on the so-called Pacific "Ring of fire" - an arc of faults around the Pacific Ocean where most of the world's earthquakes occur.