Magnitude 6.1 quake hits southern Philippines

Magnitude 6.1 quake hits southern Philippines
by AFP Staff Writers
Manila (AFP) Oct 17, 2025

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake jolted southern Philippines Friday, the United States Geological Survey said, a week after two powerful quakes hit the country.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, provincial rescuer Ralph Cadalena told AFP.

"We felt a sudden strong shake, but it was only for a very short time," Cadalena said.

The tremor struck near Dapa municipality in Surigao del Norte province at a depth of around 69 kilometres (43 miles), USGS reported.

It came a week after two quakes of 7.4 and 6.7 magnitude shook the eastern section of the main Mindanao island, killing at least eight people.

These followed a magnitude 6.9 earthquake days earlier that killed 76 people and destroyed or damaged 72,000 houses in Cebu province in central Philippines, according to government figures.

Earthquakes are a near-daily occurrence in the Philippines, which is situated on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", an arc of intense seismic activity stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

An 8.0-magnitude quake off Mindanao island's southwest coast in 1976 unleashed a tsunami that left 8,000 people dead or missing, the Philippines' deadliest natural disaster.

Magnitude 6.5 quake hits Indonesia's Papua: USGS
Jakarta (AFP) Oct 16, 2025 - A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Indonesia's eastern Papua province Thursday, damaging dozens of homes and buildings, but causing no reported casualties, officials said.

The tremor hit at 2:48 pm (0548 GMT), with its epicentre located about 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the city of Jayapura at a depth of 35 kilometres, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said there was no threat of a tsunami from the quake.

Residents in Sarmi regency rushed outdoors as the quake shook the area for around three seconds, National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Abdul Muhari said in a statement.

"As of 2:30 pm Western Indonesia Time, material losses that were recorded include 20 houses heavily damaged, 30 houses lightly damaged, and three churches with collapsed walls," he said.

No fatalities or injuries had been reported by Thursday afternoon, he added.

A team from Jakarta was set to be dispatched to assist local authorities with rapid assessments and data collection, Abdul said.

Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) official Daryono, who goes by one name, said in a statement no aftershocks had yet been recorded.

Indonesia, a vast archipelagic nation, experiences frequent earthquakes due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire".

The arc of intense seismic activity, where tectonic plates collide, stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

Indonesia's Papua is on the western half of the large Pacific island it shares with Papua New Guinea.