PETALING JAYA: A tsunami warning was issued in the Philippines tonight after an earthquake of magnitude 7.5 struck off Mindanao at 10.30pm, triggering evacuation orders for some areas in the country as well as southwestern Japanese coasts because of warnings of tsunami waves of a metre or more.
The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre said the quake was of magnitude 7.5 at a depth of 63km, Reuters reported.
The Malaysian meteorological department said an initial assessment showed no tsunami threat to Malaysia. It reported the earthquake at a depth of 85km, located 42km southeast of Gingoog City in the Philippines.
A moderate aftershock of magnitude 5.5 occurred at a depth of 105km, some 57km southeast of Gingoog City at 11pm, it said.
The Philippines volcanology institute issued a tsunami warning, posted on X (formerly Twitter), saying tsunami waves of a metre more than normal tides could be expected.
“Boats already at sea during this period should stay offshore in deep waters until further advised,” the Philippine Seismology Agency said, and asked those living near the coast of Surigao Del Sur and Davao Oriental provinces to “immediately evacuate” or “move farther inland”.
Raymark Gentallan, local police chief of the town of Hinatuan near the epicentre said power had been knocked out since the quake struck, but disaster response teams had yet to monitor any casualties or damage.
The first waves were expected between 10.37pm and midnight and were expected to last several hours.
A tsunami warning was also issued by the US tsunami warning system.
Meanwhile, Japanese broadcaster NHK said tsunami waves of up to a metre were expected to reach Japan’s southwestern coast around 30 minutes later – by 1.30am on Sunday.
