A 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit the southern Philippines on Monday (June 14), the American Institute of Geophysics (USGS) said, with local authorities warning of possible damage as a series of aftershocks shook this region prone to natural disasters.
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The shallow earthquake struck the island of Mindanao at 10:38 p.m. local (2:38 p.m. GMT), according to the USGS.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology warned of damage and aftershocks from the earthquake, reporting a magnitude of 5.9.
No injuries or damage were immediately reported, but the acting police chief in Kadingilan town, near the quake's epicenter, said he was "
really strong
".
"
Our police station was shaking,
" Captain Dino Cuevas told AFP.
“
We had to rush outside.
We are still outside because we continue to feel aftershocks.
"
Sheen Therese Romo, a disaster official in the same town, said aftershocks hampered efforts to deploy staff to assess possible damage in the area. Jun Mark Lagare, police chief of Bukidnon province, said no damage had so far been reported in the province. The Philippines is located on the
Pacific
'
Ring of Fire
', an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches from Japan to Southeast Asia and the Pacific Basin.