An earthquake shook the southern Philippines late Monday, but there were no immediate reports of damages or casualties, a government agency said, according to DPA. The quake, which struck at 9:46 pm (1346 GMT), had a magnitude of 6.6 on the Richter Scale, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs). The epicentre was located offshore, south-east of the town of Mati in Davao Oriental province, 1,050 kilometres south of Manila. It had a depth of 10 kilometres. Phivolcs said the tremor was felt in intensities three, two and one in other areas in Davao Oriental, nearby Davao City and North Cotabato province. Scientists said damages or casualties were not expected, but they warned of aftershocks. The Philippines, which is part of the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," is hit by about 10 earthquakes every day, 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 2,000 people in the northern island of Luzon.
