Fifty-one people were injured and several homes, churches and other buildings damaged on 13 July when an earthquake sent terrified residents of the southern Philippines fleeing their homes before dawn, local police said.

Buildings are demaged at the 5.8-magnitude shallow quake in the northeast coast of Mindanao island. (Photo: The Pioneer)

The 5.8-magnitude shallow quake struck the northeast coast of Mindanao island at 4:42 am (2042 GMT Friday), with the Philippine seismology office recording seven less intense aftershocks.

Patients were also evacuated briefly at the Madrid District Hospital, near the epicenter, which sustained cracks on its concrete walls. The roof of an old car park in the district collapsed, causing slight damage to the town's two fire trucks and three cars.

The impact was also felt in four neighbouring towns, damaging homes, two Catholic churches, a hotel, a gym, a bridge and a public market, while toppled power pylons blocked a key road.

The US Geological Service said the quake occurred at a depth of 11.8 km.

The Philippines is part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire", an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches from quake-prone Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

The country's most recent deadly quake occurred in April when at least 11 people were killed and a supermarket collapsed in a 6.3-magnitude tremor that hit a region north of the capital Manila.

(Source: VNA)