Manila, Oct. 17 -- The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology downgraded the magnitude of an offshore earthquake that struck Surigao del Norte province in the southern Philippines on Monday morning to magnitude 6 from 6.2.

In an updated seismic report, the institute said the tremor, which occurred at 7:03 a.m. local time (2303 GMT), struck at a depth of 28 km, approximately 13 km southeast of the municipality of General Luna in the Mindanao region.

The institute said that the tectonic quake will trigger aftershocks and cause significant damage.

The tremor was also felt in neighboring provinces in the Mindanao region and the central Philippines. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The tremor is the latest...