MINDANAO — A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the southern Philippines at 7:37 a.m. local time on Monday, prompting tsunami warnings across the Pacific region. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center indicated that tsunami waves up to 3 meters were possible on some coasts of the Philippines.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology reported the earthquake's epicenter was 13 kilometers southwest of General Santos city at a depth of 10 kilometers. The United States Geological Survey reported a different epicenter, locating it 24.7 kilometers west-southwest of Burias at a depth of 35 kilometers. The German Research Center for Geosciences initially measured the earthquake at magnitude 8.2 before downgrading it to 7.8.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center stated that tsunami waves up to 1 meter were possible on some coasts of Indonesia and Malaysia. Smaller tsunami waves were also possible in Taiwan, Japan, Guam, Papua New Guinea, and several other island nations and territories in the western Pacific. Indonesia issued a tsunami warning following the earthquake.
Teresito Bacolcol, Director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, said: "We advise people to evacuate to higher grounds or go further inland." He added: "The waves may continue for hours." The institute warned that the first tsunami waves were expected to arrive between 7:37 a.m. and 9:37 a.m. local time and could reach more than one meter above normal tide levels.
Power outages were reported following the earthquake. Residents in Indonesia's North Sulawesi and North Maluku provinces felt the earthquake tremors. No immediate information on damage or casualties was available. The institute also reported an additional magnitude 7.0 earthquake in the southern Philippines and warned that dangerous aftershocks were possible.