Quake Solomon Island & Philippine magnitude of 5.7

Philippine official said an earthquake in the region has injured at least 9 people, set off a landslide and damaged more than 30 houses in a southern province.

Governor Emmylou Talino-Mendoza of North Cotabato province said that the quake, which struck late on Saturday with a magnitude of 5.7, also cracked roads, damaged the approach to a bridge and damaged water supply pipes in two farming villages in Carmen town in her province.

Mendoza says the quake damaged a school in the village of Kimadzil, adding residents remained jittery because of continuing aftershocks. The Philippine archipelago is located in the Pacific 'Ring of Fire', where earthquakes and volcanic activity are common.

A magnitude-7.7 quake killed nearly 2,000 people on the northern island of Luzon in 1990.

A 5.5-magnitude quake struck in a remote area off the Solomon Islands on Sunday.

The US Geological Survey said the tremor, at a depth of 70 kilometres (43 miles), struck in the Solomon Sea at 3:32 am local time (17:32 GMT today) about 84 kilometres southwest of Chirovanga.

The USGS PAGER (Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response) issued a green alert level projecting a very low risk of casualties or economic losses.

In February the remote town of Lata was hit by a devastating tsunami after a 8.0-magnitude earthquake. The tsunami left at least 10 people dead, destroyed hundreds of homes and left thousands of people homeless.

The Solomons are part of the 'Ring of Fire', a zone of tectonic activity around the Pacific that is subject to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. In 2007 a tsunami following an 8.0-magnitude earthquake killed at least 52 people in the Solomons and left thousands homeless.