7.1 magnitude earthquake strikes Philippines - no major damage reported

The Philippines is on the geologically active Pacific Ring of Fire and experiences frequent earthquakes. The latest strong earthquake of 7.1 magnitude struck off the Philippines on Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said. The initial warnings were focused on the risk of tsunamis while there are no immediate reports of casualties or major damage.

According to the USGS, the quake occurred at a depth of 65.6 km (40.76 miles) with its epicenter in the Philippine Sea southeast of Davao City.

Administrator Ricardo Jalad said that the Philippine National Disaster Agency had so far received no reports of casualties, injuries or major damage. "Looks like nothing scary happened, like a collapse of a building," Jalad told reporters. Moreover, key infrastructure, airports and sea ports, were for the most part unaffected by the quake, while all personnel were accounted for, the Transport Ministry announced. A seldom-used airport in southern Davao Oriental province had minor cracks on the runway, but there was no damage to the passenger terminal building.

Initially, the Philippines' Seismology Agency warned of the risks of damage, aftershocks and tsunamis, but according to the latest data the threat of a destructive tsunami is minimal.

The U.S. National Weather Service and Hawaii Emergency Management also said there was no risk of a tsunami for the U.S. West Coast or Hawaii.