Two Earthquakes Of Magnitude 6.0 And 5.6 Hit Southern Philippines, No Casualties Reported

Two strong earthquakes have hit the southern Philippines on Tuesday, damaging buildings and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of villagers from their homes.

The first quake, measuring 6.0 magnitude, struck a few kilometers from Maragusan municipality in the mountainous gold-mining province of Davao de Oro on Mindanao island. While the second quake, measuring 5.6 magnitude, hit nearly three hours later in the neighbouring municipality of New Bataan, causing some houses to collapse.

Though no casualties have been reported, nearly 300 people were forced to leave their homes in Andap village, and about 100 people were hit by falling glasses and plates inside a shopping mall in Tagum city.

The government has suspended work and classes for Tuesday and Wednesday to allow for inspections of public buildings and infrastructure. The Philippines, located along the Pacific "Ring of Fire", experiences earthquakes often, but destructive ones come at random with no technology available to predict when and where they will happen.