At first, a 6.0-magnitude earthquake rocked the southern Philippines today, the US Geological Survey said, but there were no reports of casualties or major damage.
But it is forcing the evacuation of hundreds of villagers from their homes.
The quake struck at about 2 pm local time (0600 GMT), a few kilometres from Maragusan municipality in the mountainous gold-mining province of Davao de Oro on Mindanao island, the US Geological Survey said.
Cherrylyn Dapiton of the Maragusan disaster office confirmed there had been a landslide near a road, but it had not affected anyone or blocked traffic.
The quake lasted about 30 seconds and was followed by aftershocks, said Corporal Stephanie Clemen, with police in the city of Tagum, about 40km from Maragusan.
Also, a shallower second quake, measuring 5.6 magnitude, hit nearly three hours later in the neighbouring municipality of New Bataan, triggering the collapse of some houses.
New Bataan disaster officer Lynne Dollolasa said nearly 300 people were forced to leave their homes in Andap village, where ‘a number of houses collapsed’.
About 100 people inside a shopping mall in Tagum city, in the adjacent province of Davao del Norte, were hit by falling glasses and plates as they fled the building, said Jay Suaybaguio, the provincial information officer.
‘I was in the third floor buying office supplies when the quake suddenly struck,’ Suaybaguio told AFP.
‘When we reached the first floor we saw broken bottles of wine and condiments. The lights went out but emergency lights turned on, helping us to find our way.
‘We immediately went under our desks and when the ground stopped shaking we went straight outside,’ Clemen told AFP.
‘We are still outside because a moderate aftershock just hit. While the quake did not appear to have destroyed anything,’ Clemen said, it was strong enough to ’cause fear’.
As a result of the two strong earthquakes that jolted the southern Philippines today, the Davao del Norte government suspended work and classes on Tuesday and Wednesday to allow for inspections of public buildings and infrastructure.
