Southern Philippines rocked by series of powerful earthquakes

A series of strong earthquakes hit southern Philippines which started at 6 a.m local time Saturday. The first earthquake happened at 6:08 a.m. with a magnitude of 7.3 with its eoicenter located at 100 kilometers southwest of Cotabato City.

The quake had a depth of 604.5 kilometers, according to the US Geological Survey and the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs). Inquirer.net reports:

The next quake occurred at 6:19 a.m. but was relatively weaker, with a magnitude of 5.4, a depth of 594.8 kilometers, and an epicenter estimated at 95 kilometers west southwest of Cotabato City or 115 kilometers south of Pagadian City, the USGS and Phivolcs said.

A magnitude 7.6 earthquake followed at 6:51 a.m. The epicenter was estimated at 115 kilometers southwest of Cotabato City or 145 kilometers south of Pagadian City. The quake had a depth of 576.3 kilometers, the USGS said.

Phivolcs Drector Renato Solidum said the series of quakes happened far from the surface of the earth and said deep earthquakes, while being felt by people, did not tend to be damaging because the shaking at the surface would diminish. There was no report of injuries or damages to property. No tsunami warning was issued by Philippine authorities.