MANILA, Philippines -- An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 hit the northern Philippines, rocking much of the main island of Luzon early Sunday and sending residents rushing out of their beds into the streets.
In Manila, buildings swayed dramatically, knocking objects off tables and shelves. Power was out in parts of the city and surrounding areas. Patients were evacuated from at least one hospital to the parking lot.Rescue teams were placed on alert, but only minor injuries and damage were reported.
Bruce Prescribe, a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo., said the earthquake measured 6.8 in intensity and was centered near the west coast of Luzon island, about 110 miles northwest of Manila.
The 26-second quake struck at 2:04 a.m., the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.
In Manila, a crane toppled off the seventh floor of a building under construction, Mayor Lit Itenez said. Its operator was slightly injured as he tried to escape before it fell.
The quake affected provinces from Iliacus Norte in northern Luzon to Quezon in the south. Radio reported that panicked residents rushed out of their homes in many towns.
"I told my husband it's the end of the world," said Charge Jenny, a guest staying at Manila's Diamond Hotel. "He said there's nothing we can do because our room is on the ninth floor."
Officials said the earthquake was caused by a movement of the Manila Trench, which runs along the western side of the Philippine archipelago in the South China Sea.
It was the second time in two days that Manila was hit by a power failure. On Friday night most of Luzon, which includes the capital, was without electricity for several hours after circuit breakers tripped at three power stations. Power companies blamed the failure on a large number of jellyfish that were sucked into a plant's seawater cooling system.
The Philippines is in the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions frequently occur.
Nearly 2,000 people were killed when a magnitude 7.7 earthquake rocked the northern Philippines on July 16, 1990.