Story Highlights
- NEW: No immediate reports of injuries from the 6.2-magnitude quake
- Quake struck some 1,100 km (680 miles) south of Manila, the USGS says
- Philippines is located on the quake-prone "Ring of Fire"
- Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue a tsunami warning
(CNN) -- A strong earthquake jolted the southern Philippines on Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The 6.2 magnitude quake struck at 11:20 a.m. local time (10:20 p.m. ET).
There were no immediate reports of injuries and a tsunami warning was not issued, said Jane Punongbayan of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
"That was enough to cause panic in some people," Punongbayan said. "Some people in the mall ran out of the mall, but according to initial reports it was not strong enough to cause damage."
The quake struck 55 kilometers (35 miles) southeast of General Santos in the island of Mindanao or 1,095 kilometers (680 miles) south-southeast of Manila and at a depth of 207 kilometers (129 miles), USGS said.
The Philippines is located on the "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin that is prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue a tsunami warning for the quake.
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/12/24/philippines.quake/?iref=mpstoryview
