Footage on local media show overhead network cables swaying as vehicles come to a standstill the moment the 7.5 magnitude quake struck.
Reporters observed a frenzy outside a hospital in Davao City, near the quake’s epicentre, as patients were being treated outdoors in a carpark and crowds thronged the corridors.
A local governor described scenes of panic as tremors rattled his province.
“Some buildings were reported to have been damaged,” Edwin Jubahib, governor of Davao Oriental province, told Philippine broadcaster DZMM. “It was very strong.”
Richie Diuyen, who works at the local disaster agency in the town of Manay, said some students fainted after the quake and that it left her feeling dizzy.
“I am still scared and shook. We couldn’t believe how strong the earthquake was. This was the first time I have experienced that,” Ms Diuyen told the BBC.
The Philippines, which sits on the geologically unstable “Ring of Fire”, has been reeling from a string of devastating natural disasters.
“Filipinos are now experiencing disaster fatigue from typhoons, volcanic minor eruptions and earthquakes,” Dr Teresito Bacolcol, director of the Philippine volcanic agency Phivolcs, said in a media conference on Friday.
Dr Bacolcol called on Filipinos to “accept our reality” that “every now and then we will be jolted by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis”.
“Instead of panicking, we have to prepare,” he said.
