An earthquake measuring at least 7.5 struck Mindanao in the southern Philippines, triggering evacuation orders.
A powerful earthquake that struck the southern Philippines has killed at least one person as thousands were ordered to evacuate, including in Japan, after a tsunami warning was later lifted.
The powerful magnitude 7.6 quake struck off the coast of Mindanao island at a depth of 32 kilometers (20 miles) and was accompanied by four large aftershocks measuring over magnitude 6.0 over several hours into Sunday, said the US Geological Survey. However, the European Seismological Center for the Mediterranean estimated the magnitude of the quake at 7.5.
The first quake, which struck at 10:37 p.m. (2:37 p.m. GMT), triggered tsunami warnings across the Pacific region and caused residents along Mindanao’s eastern coast to flee buildings, evacuate a hospital and higher ground visited areas.
In Japan, authorities late Saturday issued evacuation orders for 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 15-foot (4.5-meter) concrete wall that collapsed in their neighborhood as the ground shook, prompting them to flee their home in the city Tagum in Davao del Norte province, the city’s disaster management officer, Shieldon Isidoro, told The Associated Press.
Her husband and daughter were injured.
“At first the sway was weak. Then it quickly became stronger and I could barely stand. “My perfume bottles fell off a table, pictures on my wall swung and I heard people outside screaming, ‘Get out, get out, earthquake, earthquake!'” Isidoro said.
The U.S. tsunami warning system initially said there could be waves of up to 3 meters (10 feet) above normal high tide levels along some parts of the Philippine coast. It was then said that there was no risk of a tsunami.
“Based on all available data… the tsunami threat from this earthquake has now passed,” it said.
People evacuate after the quake in Surigao del Sur, Philippines [Hinatuan LGU/Handout via Reuters]
Japanese broadcaster NHK said tsunami waves up to a meter high were expected to reach the southwest coast of Japan by 1:30 a.m. Sunday (16:30 GMT Saturday).
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 quake’s epicenter, said power has been out since the quake but disaster response teams have not yet detected any casualties or damage.
“We are evacuating people from coastal areas,” he told Portal.
Photos posted on social media by the local government in Hinatuan, home to about 44,000 people, showed dozens of residents and lines of vehicles moving toward higher ground, with a large shelter occupied by several dozen people .
Earthquakes are common in the Philippines, which lies on the Ring of Fire, a volcanic belt around the Pacific Ocean that is prone to seismic activity.