At least 7 dead, over 300 hurt in twin quakes in southern Philippines

MANILA (dpa)

The death toll from twin earthquakes in the southern Philippines has risen to seven, with more than 300 injured, the national disaster agency and local officials said on Saturday.

More than 200,000 people were affected by the 7.4- and 6.8-magnitude quakes which struck off Manay town in Davao Oriental province, about 1,000 kilometres south of Manila, 12 hours apart on Friday.

The national disaster agency said three of the fatalities were reported in Mati City, including one woman who was pinned by a collapsed wall in her house. Two miners were reported dead in Pantukan town, while Davao City and the town of Tarragona each reported one dead.

Most of the injured had trauma and bruises from being hit by debris, while many suffered hyperventilation and fainting, including students who were at school at the time of the first earthquake at 9:43am (0143 GMT). The second tremor occurred at 7:12 pm.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) issued tsunami warnings after the quakes, which were both undersea and came from the same faultline. The warnings were later cancelled.

More than 790 aftershocks have been reported since the quakes, Phivolcs said.

The Davao quakes happened just over a week after a 6.9-magnitude earthquake shook the central province of Cebu, about 515 kilometres away, killing at least 74 people and injuring 559.

The Philippines is located within the Pacific "Ring of Fire," where roughly 90% of the world's earthquakes occur.

One of the strongest quakes to hit the country was in July 1990, when more than 2,400 people were killed on the northern island of Luzon in a 7.8-magnitude earthquake.