Large quake strikes Philippines, collapsing buildings.

MANILA, Philippines — A powerful earthquake shook the northern Philippines on Monday, leaving up to eight people dead in collapsed buildings, municipal and disaster relief officials said.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the quake had registered a magnitude of 6.1 and had been centered near the town of Castillejos in Zambales province, west of Manila. It struck shortly after 5 p.m. as government offices and private businesses were closing for the day.

In the town of Porac, northwest of Manila, five people were reported crushed to death after a wall in a four-story supermarket collapsed, RJ Mago, a spokesman for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, told a local radio station.

He said an older woman and her granddaughter who had been injured at the supermarket had been taken to a hospital and were in good condition.

Lilia Pineda, governor of the northern province of Pampanga, said that she had received reports that the quake had killed eight people there and had knocked out power.

'Almost all concrete electric posts in the villages of Lubao town have fallen down,' she said.

The quake was felt in varying intensities in Manila, where new outlets reported panicked workers fleeing tall office buildings. It was also intense in the towns of Malolos and Obando, north of the city; in Lipa, a town south of Manila; and in the town of Magalang in Pampanga province. At least 25 urban centers and provinces recorded tremors.

Renato U. Solidum Jr., an official at the Department of Science and Technology, said that although the quake had not caused extensive damage, it could produce many aftershocks.

'This earthquake is not a major earthquake, but it's a strong earthquake,' he said, adding, 'This is already far from Metro Manila but a little bit shallow so we can feel it.'

Seventeen aftershocks had already been recorded by the state seismology institute.

Because of its location on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions caused by the movement of tectonic plates.

In October 2013, nearly 100 people were killed after a powerful earthquake struck the central island of Bohol.