MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A strong offshore earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.9 shook the central Philippines late Tuesday, sending people dashing out into streets, damaging a stone church and prompting a local tsunami warning.

The earthquake was centered about 17 kilometers (10 miles) northeast of Bogo city in Cebu province.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology issued a tsunami warning and advised people to stay away from the coastlines in Cebu and in the nearby provinces of Leyte and Biliran due to possible waves of up to 1 meter (3 feet). Teresito Bacolcol, director of the institute, told The Associated Press that damage and aftershocks were expected.

Power went out in the Cebu provincial town of Daanbantayan, where the stone church is located. The exten

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