Tsunami warnings issued after strong quake hits Philippines

KABUL (Pajhwok): Tsunami warnings were issued in several countries after a strong earthquake of magnitude 7.4 struck offshore in the southern Philippines on Friday.

The country’s seismology agency asked people in nearby coastal areas to move inland or to higher ground.

Agency Phivolcs warned of aftershocks from the quake, which struck in the morning in waters off Manay town in Davao Oriental in the Mindanao region.

At least one person was killed, civil defence official Raffy Alejandro said on Facebook.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued an update around noon local time saying the tsunami threat in the Philippines had passed, having earlier said waves 1 to 3 metres high were possible, although warnings from other agencies remained in place.

There were no other reports of casualties from disaster offices in the region contacted by news agency Reuters, but one official in Manay said there were initial reports of damage to homes, buildings and bridges.

The quake was among the strongest in recent years to hit the Philippines, which sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” and experiences more than 800 quakes each year.

The US Tsunami Warning System issued a tsunami threat immediately after the quake, saying hazardous waves were possible for coasts within 300 km (186 miles) of the earthquake’s epicentre.

The earthquake came two weeks after the Philippines experienced its deadliest quake, opens new tab in more than a decade, with 74 people killed on the island of Cebu. That was a magnitude of 6.9 and also struck offshore.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said authorities were assessing the situation on the ground, and said search-and-rescue teams would be deployed when it was safe to do so.

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