Thursday, October 25, 2007

Philippines hit by two quakes

Two earthquakes rocked the southern Philippines in the past two days, but no casualties or damage were reported, the government said on Wednesday.

A magnitude 5.5 quake struck before dawn on Wednesday in Tawi-Tawi province, 1080 kilometres south of Manila, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

The tremor's epicentre was located north-west of Tawi-Tawi. It was felt at intensity four, the institute said.

On Tuesday, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake hit nearby General Santos City and Davao City, but there were also no casualties or damage.

The tremor was felt at intensities three and two. Its epicentre was located south-east of General Santos City.

The Philippines, which lies on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," is hit by about 10 earthquakes everyday but only a few are actually felt.

The worst earthquake that struck the country was in 1990 when a magnitude 7.7 tremor killed nearly 2000 people in the northern island of Luzon.

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