Massive quake, brief ‘destructive’ tsunami alert: How panic gripped Philippines
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu had warned of a “destructive tsunami” within 300 kilometres (186 miles) of the epicentre.
Panic spread across the Philippines on Friday after a powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake triggered a “destructive tsunami.” The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology had also warned of damage and aftershocks from the earthquake, which hit about 20 kilometres from Manay in the Mindanao region.
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The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center later lifted the tsunami warning and only small waves were detected on the Indonesian and Philippine coasts. However, even after the tsunami threat had passed, the agency cautioned that small sea fluctuations may continue.
Philippines earthquake
The country’s president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, ordered the evacuation of a few coastal areas in the central and southern Philippines after the tsunami warning was issued.
Notably, the Philippine seismology agency had earlier warned of a “destructive tsunami” with “life-threatening wave heights”.
While there have been no reports of massive damage yet, the governor of the southern Philippine province of Davao Oriental told a local broadcaster that some buildings have been reportedly damaged.
Due to the warnings and advisories, panic spread across parts of the country as people rushed out onto the streets during and after the tremors.
In some regions, classes in schools were suspended and roads were choked with vehicles as the earthquake hit, according to reports. Children were moved out of schools in Davao city, which has around 5.4 million people. It is the largest city close to the epicentre, located about 250 kilometres west of Davao Oriental province.
‘Ring of Fire’
Often struck by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, the Philippines is one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of seismic faults across the ocean.
The earthquake comes just two weeks after the country was hit by its deadliest earthquake of magnitude 6.9 in over a decade, after 72 people were killed on the island of Cebu.
