Tsunami warning as 7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes Philippines
A 7.6 magnitude earthquake has hit the Philippines, triggering a tsunami warning.
The quake struck off the island of Mindanao late at night, with residents living on the eastern coast urged to evacuate from their homes immediately.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center warned that tsunami waves could hit the southern Philippines and parts of Indonesia, Palau and Malaysia.
Residents described a “strong and long” shaking in their homes.
One person living 146 kilometres from the epicentre wrote: “The shaking woke me up from sleep and it kept on going for what felt like forever.
“I could see my ceiling and walls shaking. Longest and strongest earthquake I’ve ever felt.”
“I’m in Davao city. This one is stronger and longer than the last quake on 17 November. Shaking side to side still,” another person said.
It comes after a huge 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit the region on 17 November. Footage from the time showed ceilings falling at two large shopping centres as pillars swayed.
The Philippines experiences regular earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the ocean.
It causes around 100-150 earthquakes a year in the region due to tectonic plates overlapping at convergent boundaries called subduction zones.
Mindanao is the second-largest island in the Philippines and is home to about 26 million people. Davao City, the third-largest city in the Philippines, is on the coast of Mindanao.
