Strong Quake Hits Philippines, Tsunami Alerts Issued

By Staff, Agencies

A powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck off the southern Philippines on Friday morning, prompting tsunami warnings across the archipelago and neighboring nations, including Indonesia and Palau.

According to the United States Geological Survey [USGS], the quake occurred at 9:43 am local time [01:43 GMT], about 20 kilometers [12 miles] off the coast of Manay in the Davao Oriental province of Mindanao. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology [PHIVOLCS] warned that a “destructive tsunami is expected with life-threatening wave heights” along the country’s eastern seaboard.

Residents of coastal areas were urged to evacuate to higher ground immediately as waves up to three meters [10 feet] were forecast in parts of the Philippines, with one-meter-high waves anticipated for Palau and Indonesia, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA].

Police officer Dianne Lacorda in Davao Oriental told AFP that power and communication lines were down across several towns, complicating early damage assessments.

“Our tumblers on the table were moving and falling,” she said. “Authorities are currently unable to assess the potential damage in some areas.”

Early reports indicated widespread power outages and minor structural damage across affected provinces, though no immediate casualties were confirmed.

Residents described scenes of panic as the ground shook violently.

“It was very slow at first then it got stronger... That’s the longest time of my life,” Christine Sierte, a teacher in the town of Compostela.

“The ceilings of some offices fell, but luckily no one was injured.”

In Davao City, local journalist Kath Caortez reported cracks forming on her family’s home.

Around the same time, the USGS recorded a magnitude 6.2 tremor southeast of Manus Island in Papua New Guinea, though no significant damage was reported. Earlier in the week, a 99-kilometer-deep quake struck near the city of Lae in Papua New Guinea without major impact.

The Mindanao quake comes just 11 days after a 6.9-magnitude earthquake devastated Cebu, killing 74 people and damaging or destroying over 72,000 homes, the deadliest in the Philippines in over a decade.

The Philippines, located on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” faces frequent quakes, with shallow ones like Friday’s posing the greatest threat to lives and infrastructure.