Houses damaged as 6.0 quake hits south Philippines

Manila

A STRONG magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit the southern Philippines at dawn on Wednesday, damaging dozens of houses and sending people fleeing into the streets for safety, authorities said. There were no immediate reports of serious casualties but electricity was cut and water pipes ruptured in Lanao del Sur, a mainly rural region some 800 km south of Manila, they said.

The quake struck at 5.21 am (2121 GMT Tuesday), sending residents jumping out of bed and running onto the road to avoid falling objects, disaster officials said. "Residents are really shocked with regard to the calamity that happened. So they are on standby (at) the highway," provincial disaster official Francis Garcia said over ABS-CBN television. Patients were evacuated outside a district hospital as a precaution, he added.