Magnitude 5.7 earthquake jolts central Philippines; no immediate reports of casualties

MANILA, Philippines – A magnitude 5.7 earthquake jolted the central Philippines on Friday, sending workers out of their offices and causing cracks on a building’s wall. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The quake’s epicenter was Antique province’s Culasi municipality, 360 kilometres (224 miles) south of Manila, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said. It added that some damage and aftershocks were expected.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured the magnitude at 5.4.

John Paul Fallarme of the Philippine institute said field personnel reported cracks on the wall of a building in Culasi. Police said there were no immediate reports of damage in other areas.

“Almost all of us ran out,” said Culasi police officer Richard Sombiloni. He said employees of the nearby municipal hall rushed out of the two-story building and gathered in parking areas and a square when the ground started shaking.

The Philippine archipelago lies in the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” where earthquakes and volcanic activities are common. A magnitude-7.2 earthquake in central Bohol province killed 200 people last year.