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Strong earthquake strikes southern Philippines

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Posted at 5:55 AM, Oct 16, 2019
and last updated 2019-10-16 08:55:43-04

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - A strong and shallow earthquake has struck the southern Philippines.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude 6.4 quake that hit Wednesday evening was centered about 5 miles from Columbio in the Mindanao region. It had a depth of only 8 miles. Shallow quakes tend to cause more damage than deeper ones.

There was no immediate word on casualties or damage from the quake.

The Philippines, one of the world's most disaster-prone countries, has frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity because it lies on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a seismically active arc of volcanos and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.

A magnitude 7.7 quake killed nearly 2,000 people in the northern Philippines in 1990.