Twenty-five people were injured and several homes, churches and other buildings damaged on Saturday when an earthquake sent terrified residents of the southern Philippines fleeing their homes before dawn, police said.

The 5.8-magnitude quake struck the northeast coast of Mindanao island at 4:42 am (2042 GMT Friday) at a depth of 11.8 kilometres (7.3 miles), with the Philippine seismology office also recording seven less intense aftershocks.

Officers at the police station in Madrid town, near the epicentre, ducked beneath tables as the glass door of a filing cabinet splintered and a television set fell and shattered off a table, said its police chief Lieutenant Wilson Uanite.

"We saw people running out of their homes. A number of residences sustained minor damage like cracked walls," Uanite told AFP by telephone.

Patients were also evacuated at the Madrid District Hospital, which sustained cracks on its concrete walls, he added.

The roof of an old car park in Madrid collapsed, causing slight damage to the town's two fire trucks and three cars, Uanite said.

The impact was also felt in four neighbouring towns, damaging homes, two Catholic churches, a hotel, a gym, a bridge and a public market, the civil defence office in the region said in a written report.

A restaurant tipped over into a nearby river in Cantilan town, while residents reported broken plates and glass and ceramic decorative figurines in their homes, police officer Johannes Tipon told AFP by telephone.

Rescue officials listed 25 injured people across the region, including six in Madrid and a girl and her father who were struck by falling masonry that fell through a roof and into their bedroom in Cantilan.

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

The country's most recent deadly quake occurred in April when at least 11 people were killed in a 6.3-magnitude temblor that hit a region north of the capital Manila, causing a supermarket to collapse.

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Seafloor survey confirms earthquake risk near Istanbul
Washington (UPI) Jul 9, 2019
It's been more than 250 years since the last major earthquake struck Istanbul, the capital of Turkey. Though the nearby fault system has been silent for two-and-a-half centuries, new research suggests the risk of another major quake is high. By analyzing shifts in the seafloor, scientists were able to confirm, for the first time, the presence of significant tectonic strain along the North Anatolian fault in the Sea of Marmara. "It would be sufficient to trigger another earthquake with ma ... read more