A powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck off the southern Philippines early Saturday, sparking tsunami warnings across parts of the Pacific and sending residents scrambling for higher ground.
The quake, centred about 20 kilometres offshore from the coastal town of Manay in Davao Oriental province, struck at a shallow depth of 20 kilometres, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
Although no casualties or major structural damage have been reported so far, authorities remain on high alert. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said emergency teams are assessing the situation and are ready to respond if needed.
Phivolcs initially recorded the quake as magnitude 7.6 but later revised it to 7.5. The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) issued an alert for waves between one and three metres, potentially affecting coastal areas up to 300 kilometres from the epicentre.
Tsunami warnings were also issued for parts of Indonesia, including Sulawesi and Papua, as precautionary measures. The earthquake comes just 11 days after another major tremor killed 74 people and displaced more than 70,000 on the central island of Cebu.
The Philippines, located along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” experiences frequent seismic activity, with over 800 significant earthquakes annually. Seismologists have also warned of possible aftershocks in the coming days.
