Quake stirs slides in southern Philippines

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MANILA, Philippines, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Residents of the southern Philippine island of Mindanao were awakened Tuesday by another in a series of earthquakes to hit the area in the last two days.

The latest, of magnitude 5.6, caused landslides in five villages in Valencia City, the Philippine Information Agency reported.

One person was injured and 143 houses destroyed, the director of the city's emergency council reported.

The epicenter of the quake, which happened about 3:44 a.m. local time, was nine miles northwest of the town of Maramag in Bukidnon province.

The temblor was one of 121 aftershocks that have shaken the region. Marcial Labininay, Northern Mindanao director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, said only the three strongest ranging in magnitude from 2 to 5 were felt on Monday and Tuesday.

The injured person, a nun, was hurt when the concrete wall of a house collapsed while she was inside, SunStar.com reported.

In the village of Lourdes, three classrooms of an elementary school were destroyed, as were the local Catholic and Baptist churches.

Ric Mangao, the institute's science research specialist, said some 447 aftershocks have been recorded in the Philippines since a 7.6-magnitude earthquake on Friday, the Manila Bulletin reported.