Frantic students were evacuated to a school field when a magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck the northern Philippines on Thursday morning.

Footage shows the pupils gathered on an outdoor basketball after the tremors hit the Saint Philomene Of Alcala School in Alcala, Cagayan Valley on May 4.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the tectonic earthquake occurred 15 kilometres northeast of Maconacon town in Isabela province. It struck at a depth of 42 kilometres at 8:49 AM local time.

The agency said no damage was expected, but warned residents to brace for possible aftershocks.

The Philippines is an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands inside the Pacific 'Ring of Fire' where the majority of Earth's volcano eruptions and earthquakes happen.