Tsunami warnings follow powerful quake off Philippines

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the southern Philippines early Monday, prompting tsunami warnings and evacuation calls across parts of the western Pacific as officials warned that waves as high as 10 feet could hit some Philippine coasts.

The quake shook the Mindanao region at 7:37 a.m. local time, shortly before 7:40 a.m., according to seismic agencies. There was no immediate information on casualties or the extent of damage, though power outages were reported and residents in coastal areas were urged to move to safer ground.

“We advise people to evacuate to higher grounds or go further inland,” Teresito Bacolcol, head of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, said in a warning to people living near the coast.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said tsunami waves of up to 3 meters, or 10 feet, were possible along some coasts of the Philippines. Waves up to 1 meter, or 3 feet, could reach some coastal areas of Indonesia and Malaysia, the center said. Smaller tsunami waves were possible in Taiwan, Japan, Guam, Papua New Guinea and several island nations and territories in the western Pacific.

Officials in Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan issued alerts warning of possible hazardous waves and advising residents to take precautionary measures. In the Philippines, the national volcanology and seismology institute said people in coastal areas of nine provinces, including Sarangani, Davao Occidental, Tawi-tawi and Sulu, should immediately evacuate to higher ground or move farther inland.

“Owners of boats in harbors, estuaries or shallow coastal water of the above-mentioned provinces should secure their boats and move away from the waterfront,” the institute said. “Boats already at sea during this period should stay offshore in deep waters until further advised.”

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology placed the epicenter 13 kilometers, or 8 miles, southwest of General Santos city on Mindanao, at a depth of 10 kilometers, or 6.2 miles. The U.S. Geological Survey gave a different location and depth, saying the epicenter was 15.3 miles west-southwest of Burias, Philippines, and that the quake had a depth of 22 miles.

Tremors were felt beyond the Philippines, including in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi and North Maluku provinces.

The Philippines is frequently struck by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions because it lies on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the ocean. The country is also among the world’s most disaster-prone, with about 20 typhoons and tropical storms lashing the archipelago each year.