Power cut as magnitude-6.4 quake hits Southern Mindanao

A worried employee inspects cracks inside a building damaged by a strong earthquake that was felt in Davao City on Saturday afternoon. (Photo by KARLOS MANLUPIG / Inquirer Mindanao)

Updated @ 10:17 p.m., Sept. 8, 2018

DAVAO CITY — A 6.4-magnitude quake shook parts of southern Mindanao on Saturday afternoon, causing power outages and triggering a landslide, witnesses and officials said.

The offshore temblor around 3:16 p.m. was traced 14 kilometers northeast of Manay town, Davao Oriental province at a depth of 28 kilometers, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

Power outages were reported in the town of Baganga and in the city of Mati, which felt the 5-magnitude earthquake.

In Davao City, some 250 km west of the epicenter, people rushed out of buildings as the shaking lasted for several seconds.

City officials were inspecting buildings and other structures for damage, according to Rodrigo Bustillo, city disaster action officer.

In Davao Oriental, some areas reported losing power, said Karen Deloso, provincial information officer.

A landslide was reported in an upland village in Manay.

The quake was also felt in Davao del Norte, Compostela Valley and Davao del Sur provinces.

Phivolcs said it expected the quake to have caused some damage, but it and the local civil defense office had not received reports of serious destruction.

“A lot of people ran from their homes because a lot of items were falling inside,” Phivolcs science researcher John Deximo said. —With a report from AFP 

/atm /pdi