UPDATE 1 -- Strong earthquake hits off the Philippines, no damage expected

UPDATE 1 -- Strong earthquake hits off the Philippines, no damage expected

2011-07-12 04:58:32 GMT+7 (ICT)

KABANKALAN, PHILIPPINES (BNO NEWS) -- A strong earthquake struck off the Philippine province of Negros Occidental on early Tuesday morning, seismologists said, but no damage was expected.

The 6.2-magnitude earthquake at 4.47 a.m. local time (2047 GMT Monday) was centered about 72 kilometers (44 miles) southwest of Kabankalan, a city in Negros Occidental. It struck about 17 kilometers (10 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS).

The United States Geological Survey, which measured the earthquake at 6.4 on the Richter scale, estimated that some 108,000 people may have felt strong shaking, which could result in light to moderate damage. More than 11 million others may have felt light to moderate shaking.

PHIVOLCS said it did not expect damage or casualties as a result of the earthquake but warned that aftershocks could follow. A 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck the same area about 16 minutes after the initial earthquake. It was followed by a 5.5-magnitude earthquake about 2 minutes later.

Neither PHIVOLCS nor the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning as a result of the earthquake. Earthquakes below magnitude 7 due usually not generate tsunamis.

The Philippines is on the so-called 'Pacific Ring of Fire', an arc of fault lines circling the Pacific Basin that is prone to frequent and large earthquakes. Volcanic eruptions also occur frequently in the region.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-07-12