Seventy-three people have been confirmed killed in a powerful earthquake that struck the central Philippines on Tuesday, authorities said.

Bohol police chief Senior Superintendent Dennis Agustin told AFP that at least 57 people died on the island of Bohol.

The quake also caused damage to houses, buildings and roads in the region.

The United States Geological Survey reported that the quake measuring a major 7.2 magnitude, struck at 08:12 local time (0012 GMT) some five kilometres (three miles) east of Balilihan, in the Bohol region of the archipelago, at a depth of 56 kilometres.

Philippine’s the Inquirer reported that the quake which lasted for a minutes, triggered a blackout in the region.

The temblor was followed by two aftershocks, each measuring more than 5.0 in magnitude.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue a Pacific-wide tsunami threat.

The epicentre was 629 kilometres from the capital Manila.

Balilihan has a population of around 18,500, according to the town's official website.

The Philippines lies on the so-called Pacific ring of fire, a chain of islands that are prone to quakes and volcanic eruptions.

More than 100 people were left dead or missing in February last year after an earthquake struck on Negros island, about 100 kilometres from the epicentre of Tuesday's quake.

The deadliest recorded natural disaster in the Philippines occurred in 1976, when a tsunami triggered by a magnitude 7.9 earthquake devastated the Moro Gulf on the southern island of Mindanao.

Between 5,000 and 8,000 people were killed, according to official estimates.

Meanwhile, images of the quake were extensively shared in the social media.