5.6 quake shakes Philippines' Mindanao

A moderate 5.6-magnitude earthquake shook the typhoon-hit southern Philippine island of Mindanao on Monday, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

A moderate 5.6-magnitude earthquake shook the typhoon-hit southern Philippine island of Mindanao on Monday, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

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The quake struck at 5.45am (2145 GMT) around 73 kilometres (45 miles) southeast of the city of Davao at a depth of 56 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.

The USGS said there was a low likelihood of casualties and damage.

The Hong Kong Observatory measured the tremor at a stronger 6.0.

Mindanao is still clearing up after powerful Typhoon Bopha hit the southern Philippines last week killing at least 548 people, most of them on the island.

The Philippines sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire -- a belt around the Pacific Ocean dotted by active volcanoes and tectonic trenches.