Strong earthquake 6.4 Magnitude hits southern Philippines island of Mindanao

A strong and shallow earthquake struck a southern Philippine province and outlying areas Wednesday night, damaging a small college building in one city and prompting residents to dash out of homes and shopping malls in panic, officials said.

There were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries, but Philippine authorities advised residents to stay out of homes that may have sustained cracks and been weakened by the intense shaking.

Mindanao is the Philippines' second largest island and Davao City is the country's third largest city, after the capital Manila and Quezon City, and home to about 1.2 million people.

The quake, which was 14 kilometres (8.6 miles) deep, was centred around 7.7 kilometres (4.7 miles) from the city of Columbio on Mindanao island at 7:37 pm (1137 GMT), according to the US monitor.

The Philippines, one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries, has frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity because it lies on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a seismically active arc of volcanos and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.

The Philippines is part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire", an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

The Philippines' state newsagency reported some power blackouts in Koronadal City and people being taken to hospital with minor injuries. Renato Solidum, head of the Philippines seismic agency, told ANC news channel there was a chance of aftershocks after the quake, considered strong and capable of causing severe damage.

A magnitude 7.7 quake killed nearly 2000 people in the northern Philippines in 1990.