A second powerful earthquake strikes off southern Philippines after first one kills at least 6

"Two powerful offshore earthquakes struck the same region in the southern Philippines hours apart on Friday with the first 7.4 magnitude temblor killing at least six people, setting off landslides and prompting evacuations of coastal areas nearby because of a brief tsunami scare. The second one had a preliminary 6.9 magnitude and also sparked a local tsunami warning by authorities. It was caused by movement in the same fault line, the Philippine Trench, at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles) off Manay town in Davao Oriental province, Philippine Institute of Seismology and Volcanology chief Teresito Bacolcol said. "The second one is a separate earthquake, which we call a doublet quake," Bacolcol told The Associated Press. "Both happened in the same area but have different strengths and epicenters." Bacolcol and other authorities expressed fears that the second nighttime earthquake could further weaken or collapse structures already undermined by the first one."

"The first quake was centered at sea about 43 kilometers (27 miles) east of Manay town and was caused by movement in the Philippine Trench at a depth of 23 kilometers (14 miles), government seismologists said. At least six people were killed, including two patients who died of heart attacks at a hospital during the first earthquake and a resident who was hit by debris in Mati city in Davao Oriental, Ednar Dayanghirang, regional director of the government's Office of Civil Defense, told The AP. Two villagers died and several others were rescued with injuries by army troops and civilian volunteers in a landslide set off by the first quake in a remote gold-mining village in Pantukan town in Davao de Oro province near D"

Two powerful offshore earthquakes hit the southern Philippines within hours, the first a 7.4 magnitude and the second a preliminary 6.9. Both quakes originated along the Philippine Trench near Manay town in Davao Oriental at shallow depths and prompted local tsunami warnings and coastal evacuations. The first quake caused landslides, at least six deaths including heart attacks and debris impacts, and injuries; a landslide in a remote gold-mining village killed two villagers and injured others. Officials warned the second quake could further weaken already damaged structures. Rescue teams and relief operations are being prepared to deploy when conditions are safe.

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