At least eight people were killed and more than 120 injured when a powerful earthquake struck in the southern Philippines, officials say, damaging buildings and an airport and knocking out power.

The late Friday quake with a magnitude of 6.5 roused residents from sleep in the Surigao del Norte province, sending hundreds fleeing from their homes.

The quake was centred about 14 kilometres north-west of the provincial capital of Surigao at a relatively shallow depth of 11 kilometres, said Renato Solidum of the Philippine Institute of Seismology and Volcanology.

Nearly 100 aftershocks have been felt, officials said, adding that schools were being reopened as evacuation centres for residents wary of returning to their damaged homes.

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