Philippines quake causes hospital evacuation, minor damage

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A strong earthquake has rocked a central Philippine province, sending people out of their homes at night, prompting dozens of patients to be evacuated from a hospital and causing minor damage to a coliseum and business establishments. Officials said there were no immediate reports of injuries or major damage from the magnitude 6 quake that was set off before dawn Thursday by a local fault line at a depth of 6 miles, about 6.8 miles west of the coastal town of Batuan in Masbate province. The Philippines lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of faults around the Pacific Ocean where most of the world’s earthquakes occur.