At least five people were killed and 60 injured after a magnitude-6.4 earthquake on the island of Mindanao, southern Philippines.
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In Tulunam, North Cotabato province, a seven-year-old girl died in a house collapse due to the earthquake, the epicentre of which was located 22 kilometers from the city, local media reported on Thursday .
In the nearby city of Kidapawan, a man died of a heart attack during the tremor, which had a magnitude of 6.4 at a depth of 14.1 kilometres, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) registered the earthquake on Wednesday at 7.37pm local time (1037 AEDT Thursday) at magnitude-6.3 at a depth of 15 km.
Another two-year-old girl died in a house collapse, and two people died due to a landslide in the city of Magsaysay, Davao del Sur province, according to Phivolcs.
Earlier, the AP reported four deaths from a landslide and building damage following the quake.
The earthquake knocked out power and communications and opened cracks in buildings in central Mindanao.
National disaster agency spokesman Mark Timbal said on Thursday two people were killed and 18 injured in a landslide in Magsaysay town in Davao del Sur province.
The seven-year-old girl was killed when a wall in her house collapsed, said Reuel Limbungan, mayor of Tulunan town in North Cotabato province.
The disaster agency said 27 people were injured and 15 buildings damaged, including shopping malls, schools and town halls.
The earthquake also shook Davao City, the home town of President Rodrigo Duterte and among the most populous cities in the country.
The quake struck 69km north-northwest of the city of General Santos, Mindanao at 7.37pm local time, the United States Geological Survey said.
The epicentre was about 80km southwest of central Davao.
"We felt a very strong jolt and there was a blackout. I saw people rushing down. We were panicking, heading to the exit," said a hotel consultant visiting Kidapawan City between the epicentre of the quake and Davao.
The Philippines is on the geologically active Pacific Ring of Fire and experiences frequent earthquakes.
"I was driving back home when I felt a very powerful shake. I stopped and saw people and patients running out of the hospital," a resident of Kidapawan City, told Reuters.
A community at the foot of a mountain had to evacuate because of more than 200 aftershocks, a Kidapawan city disaster official, told CNN Philippines channel.
Australian Associated Press
