Earthquake strikes Philippines, prompting tsunami warnings in neighboring Asian countries

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the southern island of Mindanao in the Philippines on Monday morning, triggering tsunami alerts across Asia. The quake occurred shortly before 7:40am local time, according to the United States Geological Survey.

Following the initial earthquake, more than an hour of aftershocks were reported by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS). Video footage showed a three-storey building in General Santos City collapsing due to the quake. Extensive damage was also observed at other buildings, including smashed windows and caved-in roofs.

The Philippine seismology authority stated that General Santos City experienced a 7 out of 10 “very strong” earthquake on its internal intensity scale. The number of potential casualties has yet to be confirmed.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos activated emergency agencies, including the Office of Civil Defence and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. He urged people in affected provinces to follow government advisories about tsunami waves, advising them to move to higher ground immediately.

Tsunami warnings were issued for various countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. The US-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center predicted tsunami waves as high as 3 metres in the Philippines and up to 1 metre in parts of Indonesia and Malaysia.

The first waves were expected to hit the Philippines and parts of Indonesia at around 10am local time, followed by southern Japan and Taiwan at about 11am. The US National Tsunami Warning Center downgraded the quake’s magnitude from an earlier estimate of 8.2, stating it posed no threat to coastal areas in the US.

Residents in nine provinces in the Philippines were advised to evacuate to higher ground or further inland, while owners of boats in harbours and shallow coastal water were instructed to secure their vessels and move away from the waterfront. Indonesia also issued an immediate evacuation order for parts of northern Sulawesi and Gorontalo province.

Source: Al Jazeera