According to Reuters, the Philippines ended a tsunami warning on Sunday following a 7.4 magnitude earthquake that shook the southern part of the country. The earthquake triggered coastal evacuations and caused some waves in the Philippines and Japan. No immediate casualties or severe damage were reported in the Mindanao region, although there were reports of building damage in the less populated area, where the earthquake struck.
More than 500 aftershocks were recorded, as stated by the Philippines’ Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), which cautioned people to remain vigilant as they resumed their usual activities. Phivolcs stated that the tsunami threat had mostly passed the Philippines, but advised people in threatened communities to follow their local authorities’ instructions.
The region’s national disaster agency is evaluating the impact after sending a team to gather information on the ground. The Philippines Coast Guard has put all vessels and aircraft on alert in case of deployment.
A front desk staffer at GLC Suites hotel in Bislig, Julita Bicap, shared, “We started going back to our homes early on Sunday, although we are still shaking because of aftershocks. There are aftershocks even now.” Bicap also noted a small crack in the hotel’s front wall and recalled the evacuation center experience. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre reported that the largest aftershock was magnitude 6.5.
The Philippines is situated on the “Ring of Fire,” a region prone to seismic activity as it is surrounded by volcanoes along the Pacific Ocean. Scores of residents from Hinatuan province were observed in an evacuation center, approximately 30 km from the earthquake’s epicenter.
Philvolcs’ Hinatuan-Bislig Bay station reported maximum waves of 0.64 meters, while Japan’s Hachijojima island, about 290 km south of Tokyo, recorded waves of 40 cm. The U.S. Tsunami Warning System initially indicated potential waves of up to 3 meters above the usual high tide level.
The earthquake struck at 10:37 p.m. on Saturday at a depth of 25 km, according to Philvolcs. The disaster caused significant damage to homes, as reported by James Soria, a hotel owner in Hinatuan, and Cosme Calejesan, whose house in Surigao City, 185 km from the epicenter, experienced damage. “It was sudden and abrupt, and I was worried for my children,” said Calejesan. The report was composed by Karen Lema and Neil Jerome Morales in Manila and edited by William Mallard.
