Strong earthquakes in the Philippines and Indonesia

Last night, a magnitude 6.5 earthquake shook the southern Philippines. Hours earlier, a 6.1-magnitude earthquake also occurred in eastern Indonesia - the US Geological Survey said.

According to the US agency, the Philippines earthquake occurred at 6:58 (17:58 hours Vietnam), with the epicenter about 100km southwest of Cotabato city.

Philippine officials said there were no announcements of casualties, nor did any tsunami warnings be released. Renato Solidum, in charge of the Philippine Seismic and Volcanic Institute, said that the earthquake center is located only 30km northwest of Cotabato city and people feel very clear that the earthquake takes a few seconds.

On the same day, a strong earthquake also occurred in Indonesia, with the epicenter in the east - about 3,500 km from the Sumatra earthquake area.

Mid-week earthquake shook Sumatra island in western Indonesia (Photo: AP)

According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake, which Indonesian seismologists say has a magnitude of 6.1 riches, rocked West Papua province at 12:36 (1036 hours). Vietnam time). The earthquake occurs at a depth of 39km, 128km from the province's capital Manokwari to the northwest.

In the middle of last week, a 7.6-magnitude earthquake shook the island of Sumatra in western Indonesia, burying thousands of people and seriously devastating the city of Padang and many surrounding villages.

There has been no announcement of the number of casualties in the earthquake in West Papua.