- Earthquake struck the Philippines
- Magnitude 7.8 quake was recorded
- Pacific nations now monitoring coastal waters
- See more Daily Mail on Google – save us as a Preferred Source
A huge earthquake has struck the Philippines with the region now facing a tsunami threat.
The quake, which was recorded as a 7.8 magnitude, struck at a depth of 10km on Monday morning, according to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ).
The research centre had earlier pegged the earthquake at 8.2.
The GFZ said the southern Philippine island of Mindanao was struck, with authorities now warning residents to seek higher ground after a series of tsunami alerts.
‘Based on the local tsunami scenario database, it is expected to experience wave heights of more than one metre above the normal tides and may be higher on enclosed bays and straits,’ the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said in a statement.
‘It is forecast that the first tsunami waves will arrive between 07:37am to 09:37am (PST). These waves may continue for hours.’
People in the coastal areas of Sarangani, Davao Occidental, Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, Basilan, Zamboanga Del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, Sultan Kudarat and South Cotabato are strongly advised to immediately evacuate to higher grounds or move inland.
The police chief of Alabel town in Sarangani, Philippines, said the police building had some cracks immediately after the quake, which occurred during their flag-raising ceremony, while a Jollibee building collapsed.
A huge earthquake has struck the Philippines with the region now facing a tsunami threat
The quake, which was recorded as an 7.8 magnitude, struck at a depth of 10km on Monday morning
A series of earthquakes, or ‘aftershocks’ as authorities described them, continue to impact the region
‘This is the strongest earthquake we’ve experienced,’ chief Benjie Ancheta told Reuters via phone.
Ancheta said there were no immediate reports of casualties, though some people fainted following the strong tremor.
A series of earthquakes, or ‘aftershocks’ as authorities described them, continue to impact the region, with magnitudes ranging from 3.7 to 1.3 recorded.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has issued an alert for possible hazardous tsunami waves within the next three hours along the coasts of Indonesia, the Philippines, Palau, Taiwan and Papua New Guinea.
New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency has ruled out any chance the earthquake could generate a tsunami affecting New Zealand.
‘NEMA has assessed the information with the assistance of science advisers,’ the agency said in a statement.
‘Based on current information, the initial assessment is that the earthquake is unlikely to have caused a tsunami that will affect New Zealand.’
The Philippines and Indonesia are tectonically complex regions of the ‘Pacific Ring of Fire’, a seismically active belt stretching from South America to the Russian Far East, Reuters reports.
