At least five people were killed and many injured after a strong 6.4 magnitude earthquake jolted the island of Mindanao, southern Philippines, according to reports on Thursday.
The Phillipines Institute of Volcanology and Seismology registered the earthquake on Wednesday at 7.37 pm local time (11.37 GMT) at magnitude-6.3 at a depth of 15 km.
The quake was followed by some 246 aftershocks, including two tremors above magnitude-5, according to Phivolcs.
In Tulunam, North Cotabato province, a seven-year-old girl died in house collapsed due to the earthquake, the epicentre of which was located 22 km from the city.
The quake knocked out power in Kidapawan city, a key regional transport hub, officials said.
Several residents in the coastal town of Malita, the capital of Davao Occidental province, scrambled out of their houses to an elevated portion of the town, fearing a tsunami although no giant waves came, an official said.
The Philippines sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of great seismic and volcanic activity that is shaken by about 7,000 tremors a year, mostly moderate.
This year the country has suffered several earthquakes of over magnitude-5.
The deadliest occurred in the province of Pampanga last April, which left 16 dead, and another last July in Batanes on the northern tip of the country, leaving nine dead.
Last month, the 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit Philippines Davao Occidental province.
In June this year, at least 25 people were injured and many houses, churches and building damaged after a strong 5.5 magnitude earthquake rocked Surigao del Sur province in the Philippines.