On Saturday, December 2, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake followed by at least two strong aftershocks struck the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines, where authorities feared it would trigger a “destructive tsunami.” .
Several hours after the earthquake, no casualties or damage were reported. It occurred at a depth of 32 km at 10:37 p.m., about 21 km northeast of Hinatuan, the US Geophysics Institute (USGS) said. A few hours later, two strong aftershocks of magnitude 6.4 and 6.2 shook the region again, according to the USGS.
Notable quake, preliminary information: M 7.6 – Mindanao, Philippines https://t.co/oYYBXXieBk
— USGS Earthquakes (@USGS_Quakes) December 2, 2023
The first earthquake was followed by a tsunami warning and residents of coastal areas of Surigao Sur and Davao Oriental provinces were urged to “immediately evacuate” and move to higher ground or inland. Boat owners have also been instructed to secure their boats. “A destructive tsunami is expected with waves whose height poses a threat to life,” the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said on X.
“No more risk of tsunami”
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (OTWC) in Hawaii had also issued a warning but later announced it had been lifted. “As a result of this earthquake, there is no longer any threat of a tsunami,” the OTWC said in a message broadcast at 4:45 p.m. The Philippine Institute of Seismology maintained its alert.
About 45,000 residents were ordered to leave their homes and many of them tried to reach higher ground on foot or by car, according to Hinatuan police officer Joseph Lambo, who said the earthquake was “very strong.” “Appliances fell off the shelves in the police office and two televisions broke. Motorcycles parked outside also fell,” Joseph Lambo continued.
A video posted on social media and confirmed by AFP shows bottles of drinks and other products falling from the shelves of a supermarket as employees flee outside. Another video shows people running screaming along a street in Lianga, a coastal community in Surigao del Sur.
“The longest and strongest I have ever lived”
Dyl Constantino, 25, was on Siargo Island, northeast of Mindanao, at the time of the earthquake. “It was the longest and strongest earthquake I have ever experienced, it probably lasted almost four minutes,” he assured AFP. “We are all used to earthquakes, but this one was different because the doors were really shaking and we all panicked,” he added.
Bethanie Valledor, 24, was sleeping in a hotel complex in the town of Bislig, about twenty kilometers southwest of Hinatuan, when the earthquake startled her awake. “I had the impression that the room we were in was going to be destroyed,” the young woman told AFP.
Earthquakes occur daily in the Philippines because the archipelago lies on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a zone of intense seismic and volcanic activity that stretches from Japan to the Pacific Basin through Asia in the southeast. Most are too weak to be noticed by humans. On November 17th, a magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck the island region of Mindanao, killing at least nine people.