Late on Saturday, a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of at least 7.5 struck Mindanao in the southern Philippines. This triggered evacuation orders for certain areas and southwestern Japanese coasts due to tsunami warnings predicting waves of a meter (3 feet) or more.
The Philippine Seismology Agency, Phivolcs, warned that waves could hit the Philippines by midnight, persisting for hours. The US Tsunami Warning System cautioned about potential waves up to 3 meters above the tide level along some Philippine coasts. Phivolcs advised boats at sea during this period to stay offshore in deep waters.
“Boats already at sea during this period should stay offshore in deep waters until further advised,” Phivolcs stated. Additionally, residents near the coast of Surigao Del Sur and Davao Oriental provinces were urged to “immediately evacuate” or “move farther inland.”
NHK, the Japanese broadcaster, reported that tsunami waves of up to a meter were expected to reach Japan’s southwestern coast around 30 minutes later, by 1:30 am on Sunday. While Phivolcs did not anticipate significant damage from the earthquake itself, it warned of potential aftershocks.
Raymark Gentallan, the local police chief of the coastal town of Hinatuan near the epicenter, reported power outage since the quake but no casualties or damage yet. The Philippines, located on the “Ring of Fire,” experiences frequent earthquakes due to its position in a volcanic belt around the Pacific Ocean.
The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) reported a magnitude 7.5 quake at a depth of 63 km (39 miles). The US Geological Survey placed the quake at magnitude 7.6 and a depth of 32 km (20 miles), occurring at 10:37 pm, Philippines time.
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