Strong 7.6-magnitude earthquake strikes off southern Philippines

A powerful earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale struck offshore in the southern Philippines on Friday, triggering tsunami warnings across the region and prompting mass evacuations from coastal areas.According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), the undersea quake occurred off the coast of Manay town in Davao Oriental province, in the Mindanao region, at a depth of around 10 kilometers (6 miles). The agency warned of possible aftershocks and structural damage following the strong tremor.Authorities immediately issued tsunami warnings for several coastal areas in central and southern Philippines, advising residents to move to higher ground or further inland. Phivolcs said wave heights could reach more than one metre above normal tide levels in some areas.A tsunami warning was also issued in Indonesia for the northern Sulawesi and Papua regions, where authorities cautioned that waves up to 50 centimeters could reach shorelines.
The U.S. Tsunami Warning System reported that hazardous tsunami waves were possible for coastlines located within 300 kilometers (186 miles) of the earthquake’s epicenter. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center added that waves between one and three metres above tide level were possible in parts of the Philippines, while Indonesia and Palau could experience waves of up to one metre.Edwin Jubahib, governor of Davao Oriental province, said the quake caused panic among residents. “Some buildings were reported to have been damaged. It was very strong,” he told local broadcaster DZMM.Emergency response teams were deployed across affected regions, although local authorities were yet to provide detailed damage assessments as communication lines remained disrupted in some areas.The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) recorded the quake at a magnitude of 7.4 with a depth of 58 kilometers (36 miles).The Philippines lies along the seismically active Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a region known for frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity. The country experiences more than 800 earthquakes each year, though only a fraction are strong enough to cause significant damage or trigger tsunamis.