Strong 7.4 magnitude quake strikes off Philippines, tsunami warnings lifted
By Mikhail Flores
MANILA (Reuters) - A powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck offshore in the southern Philippines on Friday, killing at least two people, while towns near the epicentre suffered structural damage and authorities warned of strong aftershocks.
The quake, in waters off the town of Manay in the province of Davao Oriental, triggered a tsunami alert for coasts within 300 km (186 miles) of the epicentre, but the warnings for the Philippines and Indonesia were subsequently lifted.
A strong aftershock of magnitude 6.9 struck at around 7 p.m. (1100 GMT) triggering a new tsunami warning, with the country's seismology agency Phivolcs warning of possible tsunami waves in the next two hours that could be more than one metre (3.2 feet) higher than normal tides.
People living near coastal areas in the southern Philippines were "strongly advised to immediately evacuate" to higher ground, or move further inland, it said in an advisory.
There were initial reports of damage to homes, buildings and bridges, one official in Manay said, although the full extent of the damage in the Philippines was not immediately clear.
At least two people were killed, civil defence official Karlo Puerto said by telephone, both in Mati City close to where the quake struck. There were no other reports of casualties from regional disaster offices contacted by Reuters.
The quake was among the strongest in recent years to hit the Philippines, which sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" and experiences more than 800 quakes each year.
It came two weeks after the Philippines experienced its deadliest earthquake in more than a decade with 74 people killed on the central island of Cebu following an offshore quake of magnitude 6.9.
VEHICLES SHAKING, GATES RATTLING
A video posted on social media and verified by Reuters showed people in the city of Davao calmly holding on to parked vehicles that rocked from side to side as the ground shook, as metal gates rattled nearby.
Richie Diuyen, a disaster official in Manay, said the quake lasted 30 to 40 seconds and damaged some homes and the facade of a church, while leaving cracked roads and unpassable bridges.
"We couldn't stand earlier. I am 46 years old now, and this is the strongest earthquake I ever felt," Diuyen said by phone.
Earlier, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said authorities were assessing the situation and search-and-rescue teams would fan out once it was safe.
"We are working round the clock to ensure that help reaches everyone who needs it," he said in a statement.
WARNING OF STRONG AFTERSHOCKS
Phivolcs warned of aftershocks as large as magnitude 6.4 and urged people in affected areas to stay away from the shoreline. People in coastal areas had earlier been told to move inland or seek higher ground.
Verified footage from the southern Philippines showed workers filing out of buildings to gather in the streets, lamps swaying in shops, and offices with toppled cabinets and workers holding on to desks as structures and fittings around them creaked.
Video images from Indonesia's island of Sulawesi showed fishing boats returning from sea and children playing on a beach from which water had receded.
Phivolcs revised down the magnitude to 7.4 from an initial figure of 7.6, and put the quake's depth at 23 km (14 miles).
The governor of Davao del Norte in the Philippines said people panicked when the earthquake struck.
"Some buildings were reported to have been damaged," Edwin Jubahib told broadcaster DZMM. "It was very strong."
(Reporting by Mikhail Flores in Manila and Ananya Palyekar and Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Ananda Teresia and Gayatri Suroyo in Jakarta; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by John Mair, Clarence Fernandez and Sharon Singleton)