ANKARA

Tens of thousands of panicked residents continued to stay in evacuation centers due to strong aftershocks from a series of earthquakes that struck southern Philippines, killing at least three people, local media and officials said on Monday.

A 7.4 magnitude earthquake jolted southern parts of the Philippines on Saturday night, killing at least three people and injuring several others, aside from forcing tens of thousands to run for safety.

A magnitude 6.8 earthquake, with a depth of 1 km (0.62 miles), struck the Mindanao region in the early hours of Monday, the Philippine seismology agency said.

Over 108,000 people were staying in 115 evacuation centers in Surigao del Sur region, local DZBB radio said.

The quakes had triggered tsunami warnings that were later lifted.

In the Caraga Region, particularly in Surigao del Sur, the regional disaster management authority deployed a total of 30 Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response (HADR) teams to assist the local government units affected by the strong earthquakes, state-run Philippines News Agency reported.

The Philippines sits on the "Ring of Fire," a belt of volcanoes circling the Pacific Ocean that is prone to seismic activity.

Last month, a 6.7 magnitude quake hit Philippines’ Burias island, killing at least nine people, shaking buildings and causing part of a shopping mall ceiling to collapse.