A shallow 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines on Sunday, killing at least four people, local officials have said.

Axar.az reports citing Xinhua that in an updated report, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the quake, which struck at 2:11 p.m. local time, hit at a depth of 3 kilometers, about 5 kilometers northwest of Matanao town in Davao del Sur.

Police said among the dead is a six-year-old from Asinan, a village in Matanao town in Davao del Sur. She died after hit by a concrete wall of her house.

Mindanao region has been rocked by strong earthquakes in recent months, with residents killed and properties damaged. The quakes also triggered landslides, displacing farmers.

Sunday's quake struck while local governments are rehabilitating the quake-affected cities, towns and villages.

The Philippines has frequent seismic activity due to its location along the Pacific "Ring of Fire."