Huge magnitude 7.8 earthquake strikes the Philippines as buildings collapse and tsunami threat sends locals racing to higher ground
- Earthquake hit the Philippines
- An earthquake of magnitude 7.8 was recorded
- Pacific countries now monitor coastal waters
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A major earthquake has occurred in the Philippines and the region now faces the threat of a tsunami.
According to the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ), the earthquake recorded with a magnitude of 7.8 occurred on Monday morning at a depth of 10 kilometers.
The research center had previously estimated the magnitude of the earthquake as 8.2.
The southern Philippine island of Mindanao was hit and authorities warned residents to move to higher ground following a series of tsunami warnings, GFZ said.
“According to the local tsunami scenario database, wave heights are expected to be one meter above normal tide level and may be higher in closed bays and straits,” the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said in a statement. he said.
‘The first tsunami waves are predicted to arrive between 07:37 and 09:37 (PST). ‘These waves can continue for hours.’
People living in the coastal areas of Sarangani, Davao Occidental, Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, Basilan, Zamboanga Del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, Sultan Kudarat and South Cotabato are strongly advised to immediately evacuate to higher ground or move inland.
The police chief of Alabel town in Sarangani, Philippines, said that some cracks appeared in the police building and the Jollibee building collapsed immediately after the earthquake that occurred during the flag raising ceremony.
A major earthquake occurred in the Philippines and the region is now facing the threat of tsunami
The earthquake, recorded as 7.8 magnitude, occurred on Monday morning at a depth of 10 kilometers.
A series of earthquakes, or ‘aftershocks’ as authorities describe them, continue to affect the region
“This is the strongest earthquake we have ever experienced,” Chief Benjie Ancheta told Reuters by phone.
Ancheta said that some people fainted after the severe shaking, but there were no casualties.
A series of earthquakes, or ‘aftershocks’ as authorities describe them, continue to impact the region, ranging in magnitude from 3.7 to 1.3.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has issued a warning of possible dangerous tsunami waves along the coasts of Indonesia, the Philippines, Palau, Taiwan and Papua New Guinea in the next three hours.
New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency rules out the possibility of the earthquake creating a tsunami affecting New Zealand.
‘NEMA evaluated the information with the assistance of its scientific advisors,’ the agency said in a statement.
‘Based on available information, the initial assessment is that the earthquake is unlikely to cause a tsunami to affect New Zealand.’
According to Reuters, the Philippines and Indonesia are tectonically complex regions of the ‘Pacific Ring of Fire’, a seismically active belt stretching from South America to the Russian Far East.
