Hundreds of homes damaged in Philippines quake

CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines (AFP) - More than 800 homes and businesses were damaged when a 5.6-magnitude earthquake rocked the southern Philippines early Tuesday, officials said.

Cracks snaked across walls and roofs collapsed when the quake struck the southern island of Mindanao before dawn, said Mr Patrick Callanta, operations chief of the civil defence office in Cagayan de Oro city. One person was injured by falling debris.

"Houses and commercial buildings suffered cracks on their walls or floors. Some roofs collapsed," Mr Callanta told AFP by telephone. "The quake struck while people slept."

Disaster officials in the region said 544 houses, shops and other commercial buildings sustained damage in Valencia city, populated by 163,000 people. The lone casualty was hit by falling debris in the adjacent town of Maramag, where 316 buildings were damaged, Callanta said.