A 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck off the island of Mindanao in the Philippines late on Saturday, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre said, and tsunamis were expected to hit the Philippines and Japan.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said tsunami waves could hit the Philippines by midnight local time and could continue for hours.
The U.S. Tsunami Warning Center said there could be waves of up to three metres above the tide level along some Philippine coasts.
“Boats already at sea during this period should stay offshore in deep waters until further advised,” Phivolcs said, asking people living near the coast of Surigao del Sur and Davao Oriental provinces to “immediately evacuate” or “move farther inland.”
Japanese broadcaster NHK said tsunami waves of up to a metre high were expected to reach Japan’s western coast a little later — by 1:30 a.m. local time on Sunday.
Phivolcs said it did not expect significant damage from the tremor itself, but it warned of aftershocks.
Raymark Gentallan, local police chief of the coastal town of Hinatuan near the earthquake’s epicentre, said power has been knocked out since the quake struck, but disaster response teams have not yet monitored any casualties or damage.
Earthquakes are common in the Philippines, which lies on the “Ring of Fire,” a belt of volcanoes circling the Pacific Ocean that is prone to seismic activity.
The U.S. Geological Survey put the quake at a depth of 32 kilometres and said it struck off the coast of the southern Philippines at 10:37 p.m. local time.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said based on the magnitude and location, it expected tsunami waves to also hit parts of Indonesia, Palau and Malaysia.