A strong earthquake that rocked the southern Philippines killed at least one person as thousands were ordered to evacuate, including in Japan, following a tsunami warning that was later lifted.
A strong 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Mindanao island at a depth of 32 km (20 miles) and was followed by four major aftershocks measuring more than 6.0 in the hours leading up to Sunday, the USGS said. However, the European Mediterranean Seismological Center estimated the intensity of this earthquake at 7.5 Richter.
The initial quake, which struck at 10:37 p.m. (1437 GMT), triggered a tsunami warning in the Pacific region and sent residents along Mindanao’s east coast fleeing buildings, evacuating a hospital and seeking higher ground.
In Japan, authorities issued evacuation orders late Saturday in various parts of Okinawa prefecture, including the entire coastal area, affecting thousands of people.
A pregnant woman died after she, her husband and daughter were hit by a 4.5-meter concrete wall that collapsed in their neighborhood as the ground shook, prompting them to flee their home in Tagum City, Davao del Norte. province, the city’s disaster mitigation chief, Shieldon Isidoro, told the Associated Press.
Her husband and daughter were injured.
“At first the swing was weak. Then it quickly intensified and I could hardly stand. My perfume bottles fell off the table, the pictures on my wall were swaying, and outside I heard people shouting, ‘Get out, get out, earthquake, earthquake!”’ Isidoro said.
The US tsunami warning system initially said waves could be up to 3 meters (10 feet) above the normal high tide level along some parts of the Philippine coast. She subsequently stated that there was no threat of a tsunami.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) said it did not expect significant damage from the quake itself, but warned of aftershocks.
Raymark Gentallan, local police chief in the coastal town of Hinatuan, near the epicenter, said electricity had been knocked out since the quake, but disaster response teams had so far reported no casualties or damage.
After inspections, civil aviation officials said there was no major damage and no disruption to air traffic at several airports in the south.
Photos posted on social media by the local government in Hinatuan, home to about 44,000 people, showed dozens of residents and queues of vehicles moving towards the elevated site with one large shelter occupied by several dozen people.
Earthquakes are common in the Philippines, which sits on the Ring of Fire, a belt of volcanoes circling the Pacific Ocean that is prone to seismic activity.
