A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck the southern Philippines on Monday, just a week after a powerful earthquake struck the same area, killing at least 65 people and leaving dozens missing.An earthquake struck off the coast of Mindanao at 5:18 pm local time (0918 GMT) at a depth of 112 kilometers, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). No tsunami warning is issued.There were no immediate reports of casualties or significant damage.“Our priority now is to monitor the coast to see if there are any signs that the sea has receded (a warning of an impending tsunami),” Cesar Cadiz of the Davao Oriental provincial disaster office told AFP, adding that no such signs had been observed.The latest earthquake comes on the heels of a devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Mindanao on Monday, June 8, causing buildings to collapse, triggering landslides and displacing thousands of people in the southern Philippines.Earlier last week, the national disaster relief agency raised the death toll from that earthquake to 65, with at least 36 people still missing.The powerful earthquake injured more than 630 people and damaged more than 3,100 homes as well as roads, bridges and government buildings. It also forced the closure of General Santos International Airport and disrupted courses in several provinces.Most of the deaths were caused by building collapses and landslides in General Santos City and nearby provinces, including Sarangani, South Cotabato and Davao Occidental. After the earthquake on June 8, more than 2,100 aftershocks have occurred, including many with magnitudes above 6.The Philippines is prone to earthquakes because it is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a vast area of seismic and volcanic activity that stretches from Japan to Southeast Asia and across the Pacific Ocean. Last October, earthquakes with magnitudes 7.4 and 6.7 also occurred in eastern Mindanao, killing at least eight people.
