MANILA -- Singer-host Jugs Jugueta had just finished performing with The Itchyworms when a magnitude 6.9 quake struck in eastern Mindanao on Saturday night.

• M6.9 quake strikes off Surigao del Sur
• Tsunami warning raised in Surigao del Sur, Davao Oriental after M6.9 quake

The Itchyworms had a gig at the St. Joseph Institute of Technology in Butuan City.

"Natapos kami 10PM. Naligo na kami, and ready to sleep na kasi 4:30AM kami gigising for our flight tomorrow. Nag-earthquake [ng] mga 10:40PM," Jugueta said in online messages with ABS-CBN News.

"Grabe, sobrang lakas! Seryoso, akala ko guguho yung hotel. Nasa 3rd floor kami. Nag-quake [for] what felt like more than one minute," he recalled.

"Tumayo kami ni Kel (bassist Kelvin Yu) sa may frame ng door ng room namin. Sobrang dilim kasi nag-black out din. Noong medyo tumigil, we grabbed whatever we could, and walked out of the hotel. Siyempre, tumawag kami sa loved ones namin."

The Itchyworms had just finished a gig when a strong quake struck in eastern Mindanao. Courtesy of Jugs Jugueta on Instagram [@jugsjugsjugs]
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After returning to the hotel, Jugueta said there was visible damage to the establishment.

"After several minutes, nag-on na yung generator ng hotel namin, so pumasok na kami ulit sa hotel. Nakita namin na may mga cracks sa floor and walls ng hotel, and may mga nahulog ng parts of the ceiling," he said.

The band has decided to move to a safer location, but Jugueta says they are still experiencing aftershocks.

Jugueta said that the band is praying that no students were hurt at the St. Joseph Institute of Technology due to the quake.

According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, the quake struck off Surigao del Sur at 10:37 p.m., some 42 kilometers northeast of Hinatuan town at a depth of 8 kilometers.

Intensity 5 was recorded in Bislig, Surigao del Sur and Cabadbaran, Agusan del Norte.

The quake triggered several aftershocks, including a magnitude 6.1 tremor that struck 64km northeast of Lingig, Surigao del Sur at 12:03 a.m.

Phivolcs has also raised a tsunami warning after the quake, with residents in the coastal areas of Surigao del Sur and Davao Oriental urged to evacuate to higher ground or move further inland.