The Philippines has been struck by a 7.1-magnitude earthquake, killing four people and injuring around 60.
Falling debris brutally killed a 25-year-old man, said Abra Vice Governor Joy Bernos, when the quake struck about six miles southeast of Dolores town at a shallow depth of 6 miles, according to U.S. Geological Survey data.
The quake happened around 8:43am local time on Wednesday and witnesses in the capital of Manila 185 miles away from the epicentre reported seeing people running out into the street as the ground shook below them.
Two people died in Benguet province, one in Abra province, and one more in another province, Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos told a televised news conference.
Horrifying photos show hospital beds, including one with a patient, being wheeled across a road as hospital staff were evacuated.
Tower blocks in the city were also said to have moved during the quake, while services on the local metro were suspended for an hour.
Major public buildings in Manila, such as the Senate, were evacuated as a precautionary measure and the city's metro rail systems were halted at rush hour.
Some buildings in towns located closer to the epicentre have been damaged, and residents told to leave their homes to avoid debris and falling ceilings.
Power cuts have also hit the region, according to Mayor Rovelyn Villamor.
Abra, home to nearly 250,000 people, is a landlocked province in the northern Philippines surrounded by mountains.
Congressman Eric Singson, who holds office in the Ilocos Sur province to the south, said he gave an order for people to vacate their houses in anticipation of aftershocks.
He told DZMM radio: "The earthquake lasted 30 seconds or more. I thought my house would fall"
"Now, we are trying to reach people... Right now there are aftershocks so we are outside our home"
A photograph shared on social media by a Filipina academic in the aftermath meanwhile showed damage to Vigan Cathedral, a Roman Catholic place of worship dating from the 18th century which forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Some of the façades appear to have crumbled, with bricks being visible on the ground. Inspectors are expected to assess the damage later.
The historic Bantay Bell Tower in Vigan, which was built by the Spanish during the sixteenth century to keep watch of pirates, has also sustained damage.
Footage showed tourists yelling and running as segments of the structure crumbled to the ground and one man is heard saying: "What a relief we didn’t go up there yet!"
The Bureau of Meteorology in Melbourne has stated there is no tsunami threat to Australia following the earthquake, with other authorities in the Pacific region also finding no risk.
The Philippines endures regular earthquakes due to its location in the Pacific "Ring of Fire", an area of high seismic activity that wraps around Southeast Asia from Japan.
Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Junior has ordered the immediate dispatch of rescue and relief teams to the earthquake-affected province of Abra, his press secretary said on Wednesday.
