Magnitude 7.0 earthquake shakes southern Philippines

A 7.0 magnitude earthquake was recorded off the coast of the southern Philippines on Saturday, according to the US Geological Survey.

The quake occurred at 11:39 a.m. about 120 miles southeast of Mindanao's largest city, Davao, and approximately 62 miles southeast of the city of Pondaguitan.

There were no reports of casualties or damage from the earthquake, which the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said struck 193 km (120 miles) east of the Philippine city of General Santos, at a depth of 60 km (37 miles).

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially said “hazardous tsunami waves” were possible within 300 km (186 miles) of the epicentre”, along with the coasts of the Philippines, Indonesia and the Pacific island nation of Palau.

But about two hours after the quake struck, the centre said there was no longer a tsunami threat.

The USGS initially said the earthquake was 7.2 magnitude and later revised that number to 6.9 and then to 7.0.

The Philippines Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has advised the public to stay away from the coast as "minor sea level disturbances" are expected until 2 p.m.

Residents of the southern Philippines said the earthquake lasted about a minute and people rushed out of buildings but there had been no major damage.

Indonesian media also said there were no reports of damage.

The Philippines and Indonesia are both on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a horse-shoe shaped band of volcanoes and fault lines circling the edges of the Pacific Ocean.

Indonesia has been struck by two serious tsunamis this year.

The first followed a 7.5 magnitude quake on the west coast of Sulawesi island in September. More than 2,000 people were killed.

The second tsunami struck a week ago, on Saturday evening, when part of a volcanic island collapsed in the Sunda Strait, between Java and Sumatra islands, generating tsunami waves that killed more than 400 people.