Buildings were evacuated due to the earthquake in the capital of the Philippines

MANILA:

Workers, residents and students evacuated buildings in the Philippine capital Manila on Tuesday after a 5.9-magnitude earthquake hit the main island of Luzon, according to the state seismological agency and media images.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, and the seismological agency told X, formerly of Twitter, that it did not expect damage but warned of aftershocks.

It recorded the 5.9-magnitude offshore earthquake at a depth of 79 kilometers (49.09 miles). Its epicenter was about 130 kilometers from the capital region.

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“We felt the strong and big earthquake,” Michael Oragiani, mayor of Lubang town in Occidental Mindoro province, told DWPM radio station. “We rushed out, even while the building was shaking.”

Images shared by media on X showed government workers leaving Congress, the Senate, the presidential palace and the Justice Department buildings. Students also evacuated universities.

The Ministry of Transport suspended train operations in the capital. No damage was observed to the runway and taxiway pavements and terminal facilities, the state-run airport operator said.

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Center had earlier recorded the quake at 6.2 on the Richter scale before it was downgraded to 6.0.

Earthquakes are common in the Philippines, which is located on the “Ring of Fire,” a belt of volcanoes that circles the Pacific Ocean that is prone to seismic activity.

Three people died in the 7.4 magnitude earthquake that struck the southern Philippines on Saturday night. More than 2,000 aftershocks followed, prompting thousands to remain in evacuation centers.

A separate 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit Mindanao early Monday morning