A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the southern Philippines’ island of Mindanao on Monday, triggering a tsunami warning for the country, neighboring Indonesia and Japan, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.
The quake struck around 7:37 a.m. local time at a depth of about 35 kilometers (21.7 miles), the USGS said. There were no immediate reports of deaths.
The earthquake occurred off the coast of General Santos City in Sarangani province, the southernmost tip of Mindanao, said the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), the country’s seismological agency.
Phivolcs also issued a tsunami warning and urged people living in coastal areas to evacuate. According to the US tsunami warning system, tsunami waves could reach 1 to 3 meters above the tide level in some areas of the Philippines.
Photos from General Santos’ local information office showed convenience stores and buildings collapsed in the earthquake’s aftermath.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he had “directed all relevant government agencies to take immediate action” to evacuate residents and begin rescue operations.
“Kababayan (compatriots) in the affected areas, please heed the tsunami warning. Move to higher ground now. Don’t wait. Your life is more important than what is left behind,” he said in a statement.
About 580,000 people live in Sarangani province, where most images of the damage have surfaced.
Benji Ancheta, the police chief in Arabel town in the Philippines’ Sarangani province, told Reuters that cracks appeared in the police building during a flag-raising ceremony shortly after the earthquake.
Ancheta said there were no immediate reports of casualties, but some people were knocked unconscious by the strong shaking.
“This is the strongest earthquake we have experienced,” Ancheta told Reuters by phone.
Indonesia also issued a tsunami warning for its northeast coast, Reuters reported.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, a tsunami advisory has been issued for Japan’s southern coast from Ibaraki Prefecture to Okinawa Prefecture.
The Philippines, Indonesia, and Japan are located on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc-shaped fault that surrounds the Pacific Basin and is prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
According to the National Weather Service, no tsunami threat has been detected in Hawaii.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
