An earthquake of at least magnitude 7.5 struck Mindanao in the southern Philippines late Saturday, prompting evacuation orders for parts of the country as well as the southwest Japanese coasts due to tsunami warnings of one metre (3 feet) or higher.
The Philippine Seismology Agency Phivolcs said the waves could hit the Philippines by midnight (1600 GMT) and last for hours, though no significant wave damage had been reported by that time.
The United States Tsunami Warning System said there could be waves up to 3 metres high along some Philippine coasts, but it later said there was no risk of a tsunami.
“Based on all available data … the tsunami threat from this earthquake has now passed,” the statement said.
Phivolcs advised residents of Surigao Del Sur and Davao Oriental provinces to “immediately evacuate” or “move farther inland.”
“Boats already at sea during this period should stay offshore in deep waters until further advised,” according to the statement.
Unlike other parts of the Philippines, the two provinces are largely rural and sparsely populated.
Tsunami waves of up to one metre are expected to reach Japan’s southwest coast by 1:30 a.m. Sunday (1630 GMT Saturday).
Phivolcs said the tremor would cause no significant damage, but warned of aftershocks.
According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), the area has already been hit by more than a dozen aftershocks, the largest of which measured magnitude 6.4.
Raymark Gentallan, the local police chief of Hinatuan, a coastal town with a population of around 44,000, said power had been knocked out since the earthquake struck, but disaster response teams had not yet monitored any casualties or damage.
“We’re evacuating people away from coastal areas,” he said, according to Reuters.
Photographs posted on social media by Hinatuan’s local administration showed dozens of residents and long lines of vehicles making their way to higher ground, with one large shelter occupied by a few dozen people.
Earthquakes are common in the Philippines, which is located on the Pacific Ocean’s “Ring of Fire,” a belt of volcanoes prone to seismic activity.
The EMSC reported a magnitude 7.5 earthquake at a depth of 63 km (39 miles), while the USGS reported a magnitude 7.6 earthquake at a depth of 32 km (20 miles) at 10:37 p.m. (1437 GMT).
Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru and Mikhail Flores in Manila contributed reporting, as did Kiyoshi Takenaka in Tokyo. Kevin Liffey and Devjyot Ghoshal wrote the piece, and Alison Williams and David Holmes edited it.