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Strong 6.7-Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Islands of Central Philippines

By Bill Deger, Meteorologist for AccuWeather.com

AccuWeather.com reports a strong 6.7-magnitude earthquake shook the islands of the central Philippines early on Monday, reportedly killing 43 people, destroying buildings and triggering small tsunami waves.

The quake struck at 11:49 a.m. local time (10:49 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday) just off the coast of Negros Island, about 350 miles south-southeast of the nation's capital city of Manila.

The shaking toppled buildings in the nearby town of Tayasan and triggered a landslide in Guihulngan. Up to 30 homes were buried, with at least 29 people missing according to the city's mayor.

A large three-story office building collapsed in the wake of the quake in La Libertad. Fortunately, it appears that all habitants were able to escape prior to the collapse.

At least 100 people have been injured across the country.

Fearing modest tsunami waves, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology issued a Tsunami Alert for the central islands. Shortly thereafter, reports came that high waves destroyed several bamboo and wooden cottages at a coastal resort.

With no additional reports of damage, and waves expected to remain below 3 feet in height, a wider tsunami warning was not issued for the rest of the Pacific.

According to the USGS, the earthquake was rather shallow, centered only about 12 miles deep. Because of this, several users reported severe to violent shaking online at the agency's website.

Several aftershocks were registered in the wake of the primary quake, the largest being a magnitude 6.2 about 6 hours later.