Manila, Sha'ban 3, 1438, Apr 29, 2017, SPA -- A 7.2-magnitude earthquake rocked the southern Philippines on Saturday, causing damage to some buildings and forcing thousands to flee their homes, officials said. No injuries or casualties were immediately reported, disaster relief officials said. The quake, which struck at 2023 GMT at a depth of 10 kilometres,  was felt in several provinces in the southern region of Mindanao, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. The epicentre was located 53 kilometres west of the town of Sarangani in the province of Davao Occidental, it added. The institute issued a tsunami alert for coastal areas in the affected areas but lifted the warning hours later. --SPA 09:31 LOCAL TIME 06:31 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w388583