Following the earthquake’s depth of 78 kilometers ( 48 miles ) off the main southern island of Mindanao at 0814 GMT, the USGS said there was no tsunami threat.
Although there were immediate reports of casualties, the earthquake was felt throughout the entire mountainous island.
Keeshia Leyran, 27, a conference attendee in Davao City, about 200 kilometers ( 124 miles ) from the epicentre, said to AFP,” I think it was the strongest earthquake I’ve ever experienced.”
” People in my immediate vicinity were in a panic and rushing outside. Since there will be hundreds of attendees, I was more concerned about a stampede than anything else.
Less than 100 kilometers from the epicentre, in a shopping mall in General Santos City, AFP confirmed in an image that was posted on Facebook.
According to emergency medical services worker Adrian Imbong, about 30 high school students in the city experienced breathing problems as a result of panic following the earthquake.
The earthquake was “really strong,” according to Captain Giecarrjune Villarin of the Saranganimunicipality police.
On the island, which is about 30 kilometers southeast of the earthquake’s epicenter, he and his colleagues destroyed their building.
He claimed that” we saw people leave a nearby gym where they were playing basketball.”
” Any reports of damage or casualties have been received by us.”
When they noticed the movement, Raquel Balaba, 58, was at a primary school in General Santos City with her grandchildren.
Balaba told AFP,” We were in an open field, but the earthquake was so powerful that the kids started crying and getting very scared.”
” I’m trying to rest now because I felt really lightheaded. Thank God, however, nobody was hurt here.
According to Jason Sioco, a member of the neighborhood disaster agency, some schools in the JoseAbad Santos municipality of Davao Occidental province reported building cracks.
However, he claimed that no reports of” substantial damage” or “injuries” had been made.
He stated that although power and telephone signals had temporarily been cut off, electricity had resumed.
In the Philippines, which is located along the Pacific” Ring ofFire,” a region of intense seismic and volcanic activity that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and the entire Pacific basin, earthquakes occur every day.