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MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A strong and shallow earthquake has struck the southern Philippines.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude 6.4 quake that hit Wednesday evening was centered about 8 kilometers (5 miles) from Columbio in the Mindanao region. It had a depth of only 14 kilometers (8 miles). Shallow quakes tend to cause more damage than deeper ones.
There was no immediate word on casualties or damage from the quake.
The Philippines, one of the world's most disaster-prone countries, has frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity because it lies on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a seismically active arc of volcanos and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.
A magnitude 7.7 quake killed nearly 2,000 people in the northern Philippines in 1990.
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