An earthquake of magnitude 7.5 struck off the cost of the southern Philippines island of Mindanao on Saturday, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said. A tsunami warning has been issued by the US tsunami warning system.
The quake struck at 10:37 p.m. and was measured at a moderate depth of 32 kilometers (20 miles). The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said that based on the magnitude and location it expected tsunami waves to hit the southern Philippines and parts of Indonesia, Palau and Malaysia.
A Philippine government agency advised the residents of Surigao Del Sur and Davao Oriental provinces on the eastern shores of Mindanao to immediately evacuate to higher grounds or move inland.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said based on the magnitude and location, it expected tsunami waves to hit the southern Philippines and parts of Indonesia, Palau and Malaysia.
The Philippines, one of the world's most disaster-prone countries, experiences regular earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the ocean. The archipelago is also lashed by about 20 typhoons and storms each year.
Last month, a powerful undersea earthquake shook the southern Philippines causing ceilings in shopping malls to plunge to the ground as shoppers screamed. No tsunami warning was in effect.
The Office of Civil Defense said it was investigating a report of one death. The magnitude 6.7 quake was located 26 kilometres (16 miles) from Burias at the southern tip of the Philippines, the US Geological Survey said. It was centred at a depth of 78 kilometres, it said.
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