A strong offshore earthquake of magnitude 6.9 shook the central Philippines late Tuesday, damaging stone and concrete buildings, injuring several people with falling debris and sending residents scrambling out of their homes, officials said.

The earthquake was centered about 17 kilometers (10 miles) northeast of Bogo, a coastal city of about 90,000 people, where the intense shaking damaged concrete walls of houses and a fire station, knocked out power in the city and caused deep cracks on asphalt roads, firefighter Rey Cañete said.

“We were in our barracks to retire for the day when the ground started to shake and we rushed out but stumbled to the ground because of the intense shaking,” Cañete told The Associated Press by telephone, adding that he and three other firemen sustained cuts a

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