Earthquake of 7.5 strikes Philippines, tsunami warnings in Philippines and Japan

 

                                                            

An earthquake of at least magnitude 7.5 struck Mindanao in the southern Philippines late on Saturday, triggering evacuation orders for some areas of the country and for southwest Japanese coasts because of warnings of tsunami waves of 1 meter (3 feet) or more

                                                                    

The Philippine Seismology Agency Phivolcs said the waves could hit the Philippines by midnight (1600 GMT) and continue for hours, though there were no initial reports of significant wave damage by that time.

The U.S. Tsunami Warning System said there could be waves of up to 3 meters above the usual high tide level along some Philippine coasts, though it subsequently said there was no risk of a tsunami.

"Based on all available data ... the tsunami threat from this earthquake has now passed," it said.

                                                       

Phivolcs said people living near the coast of Surigao Del Sur and Davao Oriental provinces should "immediately evacuate" or "move farther inland".

"Boats already at sea during this period should stay offshore in deep waters until further advised," it said.

The two provinces are largely rural and not densely populated, unlike other parts of the Philippines.

Japanese broadcaster NHK said tsunami waves of up to 1 meter were expected to reach Japan's southwest coast by 1:30 a.m. Sunday (1630 GMT Saturday).

Phivolcs said it did not expect significant damage from the tremor itself, but warned of aftershocks.