MANILA — An earthquake measuring magnitude 6.9 rocked the southern Philippines on Sunday afternoon, causing scenes of panic and killing at least one child and injuring a least 15 others, officials said.

Vincent Fernandez, the mayor of the town of Matanao, told local radio that a 6-year-old girl died after a wall collapsed on her during the powerful earthquake.

The United States Geological Survey said the quake’s epicenter was near the town of Magsaysay in the populated province of Davao del Sur on Mindanao island. A second quake, a magnitude-5.7, followed not long after.

The initial earthquake was the third of magnitude 6.5 or higher to hit the area, southwest of Davao City, since late October. Those two earlier quakes, which struck over the course of three days, as well as two others in October and November, left more than 20 people dead.