(MENAFN- Live Mint) Earthquake Today: A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck Mindanao, Philippines, on Friday, 17 October, according to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ).

This comes just a week after two powerful offshore quakes hit the country. On 10 October, twin quakes hit southern Philippines' Mindanao.

Earlier quakes

The first earthquake, measuring 7.4, claimed at least seven lives, triggered landslides, and prompted evacuations of nearby coastal areas amid a brief tsunami warning. However, tsunami warnings for both the Philippines and Indonesia were later withdrawn.

The second earthquake, with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8, also led to a local tsunami alert. Both tremors were caused by movement along the same fault line, the Philippine Trench, at a depth of 37 kilometres (23 miles) off Manay town in Davao Oriental province, according to Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology chief Teresito Bacolcol. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) warned that waves could rise more than one metre (3.2 feet) above normal sea levels.

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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., facing his latest natural disaster after a recent deadly quake and back-to-back storms, said the potential damage was being assessed and rescue teams and relief operations were being prepared and would be deployed when it was safe to do so.

Residents living in coastal areas in the southern Philippines were "strongly advised to immediately evacuate" to higher ground or relocate further inland, according to an official advisory.

Phivolcs Director Teresito Bacolcol referred to the two powerful earthquakes as a“doublet”, separate but closely timed quakes that struck along a major undersea trench off the country's eastern coastline.

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While the full scale of the destruction remains uncertain, initial reports from Manay indicated damage to homes, buildings, and bridges. Civil defense official Ednar Dayanghirang confirmed that at least seven people were killed in towns and cities near the epicenter.

The twin tremors rank among the most powerful to strike the Philippines in recent years. Located along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," the country regularly experiences more than 800 earthquakes annually.

These quakes occurred just two weeks after the Philippines endured its deadliest earthquake in over ten years, when a magnitude 6.9 offshore quake claimed 74 lives on the central island of Cebu.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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