It is possible to have other aftershocks which could add to the damage.

Aerial shot shows extent of damage from a fire that hit Barangay Manocmanoc in Sitio Ambulong in Aklan which was visited by Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go.

Still reeling from a deadly tremor, another powerful earthquake with a 6.6 magnitude struck Mindanao on Tuesday, killing at least five people while leaving dozens of others injured.

A town hall was heavily damaged from the temblor, in which the epicenter was in North Cotabato but was felt in most Mindanao provinces.

Rescue teams have begun fanning out to assess the damage to the region where electricity and phone services were knocked out by the power of the quake.

“It is possible to have other aftershocks which could add to the damage. People should stay outside for now,” said Renato Solidum, head of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

The US Geological Survey said the initial quake, which lasted up to a minute in some areas, was followed by a number of smaller episodes including one of 5.8 magnitude.

Malacañang immediately called for calm and vigilance among residents of affected areas in Mindanao.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said that the national government, through the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, is closely monitoring the situation.

Panelo said all responsible government agencies and local government units are currently undertaking rapid damage assessment and needs analysis in the affected areas and communities in order to properly coordinate rescue and relief operations.

“We urge them to refrain from spreading disinformation that may cause undue alarm, panic and stress to many people,” Panelo said.

“We also urge them to monitor developments through the alerts and bulletins of official government channels,” he added.

Sen. Christopher Lawrence ‘Bong” Go, who is from Davao, also called for unity following the magnitude 6.6 earthquake.

Go urged the public to refrain from spreading “fake news” to avoid panic.

“I also urge residents to avoid spreading of fake news to prevent further harm. Let us all be united and be calm and safe,” Go told reporters in Boracay Island where he visited fire victims at a Muslim community in Sitio Ambulong in Barangay Manocmanoc.

Phivolcs reported the quake happened at exactly 9:04 a.m. with its epicenter traced at the eastern part of Tulunan, Cotabato at a depth of 8 kilometers.

It added that damages and aftershocks are further expected following the strong quake.

An office worker being carried on a stretcher after fainting in Davao City at the height of a 6.6 magnitude tremor that hit yesterday.

Terrified locals ran into the streets after the shallow quake as schools and offices opened for the day.

At least 50 people were hurt by falling debris, including some seven pupils and teachers who were escaping from their collapsed elementary school.

A teenage boy was crushed by a falling wall as he tried to escape his school in Magsaysay, the town spokesman told AFP. Though other students were injured in “stampede” to escape the building, they survived.

A collapsing wall in Koronadal also killed 66-year-old Nestro Narciso, local authorities told AFP.

In Arakan, North Cotabato, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office reported that two people — a man and a child, died after being hit by a fallen rock from a mountain.

In Tulunan, which is near the epicenter, a pregnant woman was also reported dead.

The quake was felt in the various areas as Intensity VII — Tulunan & Makilala, Cotabato; Kidapawan City; Malungon, Sarangani; Intensity VI — Davao City; Koronadal City; Cagayan de Oro City; Intensity V — Tampakan,Surallah and Tupi, South Cotabato; Alabel, Sarangani; Intensity IV — General Santos City; Kalilangan, Bukidnon; Intensity III — Sergio Osmeña Sr., Zamboanga del Norte; Zamboanga City; Dipolog City; Molave, Zamboanga del Norte; Talakag, Bukidnon and Intensity I — Camiguin, Mambajao.

Locals were awed by the power of the quake, which was shallow and thus potentially more destructive.

“Buildings were not just moving, they were swaying,” Gadi Sorilla, a doctor at a hospital in Tulunan which is a town about 25 kilometers from the epicenter, told AFP.

“I asked God for help,” he said, adding the hospital had quickly received about 10 patients, some with head injuries.

Tulunan Mayor Reuel Limbungan said the local municipal hall had been heavily damaged and authorities had received “lots of reports of injuries.”

Rescue teams have begun fanning out to assess the damage to the region, where electricity and phone services were knocked out by the power of the quake.

The continuing tremors were causing anxiety on the ground, with people refusing to go back inside buildings for fear of being caught in any resulting collapse.

Schools across the area have been shuttered as a precaution.

In Davao City, Mayor Sara Duterte recounted how she grabbed her children and ran for safety outside their house at the height of the tremor.

“I just grabbed them on my way out of the house,” Duterte said. “I was wearing my shoes, but the temblor struck so I just left the other shoe behind.”

“We went through the backdoor,” she added, noting that her family designated an evacuation site and exercised an earthquake drill.

Last 16 October, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake also struck central Mindanao, killing seven people and injuring dozens, displacing hundreds while damaging many buildings and structures.

“We still have 570 individuals in evacuation centers (from the previous quake) and with this quake, we are expecting more evacuees,” said Zaldy Ortiz, an officer with a local emergency rescue team.

The Philippines suffers regular tremors as part of the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

Aside from these two earthquakes in Mindanao, one of the deadliest quakes to hit the Philippines recently was in April, causing the collapse of a building near the capital Manila.

At least 16 people were killed when a building pancaked in the worst-hit Pampanga province.

High-rise structures in the capital swayed after the April quake, leaving some with large cracks in their walls.

Thousands of travelers were stranded after aviation authorities shut down the secondary Clark Airport, which is located on the site of the former U.S. military installation that lies about an hour’s drive north of the capital.

Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) reported no major damages on all its airports in Mindanao.

CAAP said that the Butuan Airport, Davao International Airport, Cotabato Airport, General Santos International Airport, Laguindingan Airport reported no damages in terms of infrastructure, runway and other facilities.