Six earthquakes struck the Moro Gulf of Mindanao island in the southern Philippines today, followed by one in northern Sumatra, Indonesia, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The latest temblor, with a magnitude of 5.4, struck 50 kilometers south-southeast of Sumatra’s Padangsidempuan city at 9:11 a.m. local time, the agency said on its website. The first quake had a magnitude of 7.3 and hit at 6:08 a.m. Philippine time, 100 kilometers (62 miles) southwest of Mindanao’s Cotabato city, the USGS said.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, and no tsunami warning was issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. Indonesia and the Philippines lie along the so- called Pacific Ring of Fire, where tectonic plates collide and about 80 percent of the world’s largest temblors occur.
The Indonesian quake was centered 38.1 kilometers deep and was felt in the central business district of neighboring Singapore. The Philippine temblors were at depths of as much as 617 kilometers and three of them had magnitudes of more than 7, according to the USGS.
Residents of Mindanao were reportedly awakened by the tremors, the Philippines’ Inquirer.net reported. Officials were still determining
whether there were casualties or damages, the report said, citing Renato Solidum, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
Indonesia’s last earthquake hit on May 23 with a magnitude of 4.9, the USGS said on its website. The last one in the Philippines was a magnitude-4.7 temblor that struck the northern Luzon region on May 22, the USGS said.
