Asia-Pacific

Series of moderate quakes rattle S Philippines

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-03-04 10:00

DAVAO CITY, Philippines - A moderate earthquake struck parts of southern Philippines late Thursday night, hours after a milder but more shallow temblor struck the same area hours earlier, the US Geological Survey said.

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The magnitude-5.4 quake hit at 11:12 pm local time, and was traced 62 kilometers east-southeast of Surigao City in Mindanao at a depth of 38.7 kilometers, the USGS said.

The shaking happened just six hours after a magnitude-4.5 temblor with a depth of 18 kilometers rattled the same region, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology in Davao City, said. That quake was followed by a magnitude-3.9 aftershock several minutes later. Officials have yet to report damage or casualty following the quakes.

The Philippines sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where continental plates collide, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.