Quake of magnitude 6.4 rocks northern Philippines

An earthquake with an initial magnitude of 6.4 rocked northern Philippines on Sunday, but there were no initial reports of damages, the government's volcanology and seismology institute said. 

The quake, centered offshore 117 km northeast of Laoag city on the main Philippine island of Luzon, was felt as far as the capital Manila, the institute said in a report posted on its website. 

"It's quite big so we are calling and checking on islands in the north, but there are no reports of damages yet," Ismael Narag, officer in charge of the seismology department at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, told Reuters.