MANILA, March 14 — A powerful earthquake struck off the Philippines’ main island Monday, jolting buildings in the capital Manila, but there were no immediate reports of damage and a tsunami warning was not issued.

The shallow 6.4-magnitude quake hit about 110 kilometres (68 miles) off Morong in Bataan province on Luzon island at 5:05am (2105 GMT), with residents in nearby Manila woken by their buildings shaking.

Shallow quakes tend to do more damage than deep tremors, but the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said damage was not expected.

"It’s strong and it’s shaking as if it’s dancing sideways,” said Lieutenant Aristotle Calayag, acting police chief of Lubang town in Occidental Mindoro, an island off Luzon.

"The people are used to earthquakes like this so they didn’t rush outside or panic,” he said.

Morong police chief Captain Michelle Gaziola told AFP the quake was "a bit strong but it was brief”.

"We’re okay. Most people are still asleep.”

The Philippines is regularly rocked by quakes due to its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire”, an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches from Japan through South-east Asia and across the Pacific basin. — AFP