A powerful earthquake, registering at least magnitude 7.5, struck Mindanao in the southern Philippines late on Saturday.
The seismic event prompted evacuation orders for parts of the Philippines and southwestern Japanese coasts due to warnings of potential tsunami waves reaching a meter (3 feet) or higher.
The Philippine Seismology Agency, Phivolcs, warned that tsunami waves could reach the Philippines by midnight (1600 GMT) and may continue for several hours. The U.S. Tsunami Warning System also predicted waves up to 3 meters above tide levels along some coasts of the Philippines.
Residents near the coast of Surigao Del Sur and Davao Oriental provinces were advised to evacuate immediately. Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that tsunami waves of up to a meter were expected to reach Japan’s southwestern coast about 30 minutes later, around 1:30 a.m. on Sunday (1630 GMT on Saturday).
While Phivolcs did not anticipate significant damage from the tremor, they cautioned about possible aftershocks. Raymark Gentallan, the local police chief in Hinatuan near the earthquake’s epicentre, reported a power outage but no casualties or damage since the quake.
The Philippines, part of the “Ring of Fire” known for seismic activity, frequently experiences earthquakes. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) reported the quake’s magnitude as 7.5 at a depth of 63 km (39 miles).
In comparison, the U.S. Geological Survey recorded it at 7.6 magnitude and a depth of 32 km (20 miles), occurring at 10:37 p.m. Philippines time (1437 GMT).
