At least 31 injured in S. Philippines quake

At least 31 people were injured and more than 80 houses destroyed after a magnitude-5. 2 quake hit parts of southern Philippines late on Monday, officials said on Tuesday. Ten people remained in hospital after the tremor shook Bukidnon province on Mindanao island around 5:40 p.m. local time, said Arsenio Alagenio, provincial disaster coordinating council chief. Alagenio said that 82 houses were destroyed in the hardest-hit Valencia City alone. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the epicenter was some 32 kilometers west of the provincial capital Malaybalay city. Officials said the quake resulted in overturned furniture, collapsed roof and panicked residents rushing out of their homes. Electric power was cut, but restored by 7 p.m. The Philippines sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire where earthquakes are common.