Philippine quake knocks over building, panics residents

MANILA (AP) -- A strong, shallow earthquake shook the central Philippines on Thursday, injuring at least 10 people in a collapsed building, knocking out power in some areas and sending villagers fleeing from their homes, officials said.
 
The US Geological Survey said the quake had a magnitude of 6.5 and struck at a depth of 6.5 kilometers near Masarayao town in Leyte province. Shallow earthquakes generally cause more damage on the Earth's surface.
 
A building collapsed in the agricultural town of Kananga in a mountainous region of Leyte, injuring at least 10 people and trapping an unspecified number of others, Vice Mayor Elmer Codilla said. "There's an ongoing rescue," he told DZMM radio.
 
Codilla said he wasn't aware how many people were in the building, which had a grocery store and a beauty parlor on the ground floor. Police said it had two floors.
 
Villagers reported strong shaking and said people fled from buildings and schools, and some were knocked over.
 
Delia Vilbar, the treasurer of nearby Ormoc city, said she was attending a meeting on the second floor of City Hall when the earthquake struck.
 
"It was very strong, and the building was shaking," she said. "I sat down while others in the room went under the table."
 
When she went outside to the street, she saw people crying and embracing each other, she said.
 
Asked about the earthquake, President Rodrigo Duterte, who was visiting southern Bukidnon province, said he has not received any reports of major damage.
 
The Philippines sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," where earthquakes and volcanoes are common. A magnitude 7.7 quake killed nearly 2,000 people in the northern Philippines in 1990.