7.8 earthquake hits southern Philippines

AI Summary

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off Mindanao in the southern Philippines, triggering tsunami warnings in both the Philippines and Indonesia. There were no immediate major damage reports or casualties, but the quake was the strongest experienced in the area recently and caused minor structural damage in some locations.

MANILA: Tsunami warnings were ​issued after an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck ​off Mindanao in the southern Philippines on Monday, the German Research Centre for Geosciences said.The quake struck at a depth of 10 ‌km (6.2 miles), ⁠GFZ ⁠said. The geophysics agencies of the Philippines and neighbouring Indonesia issued tsunami ​warnings. There were no immediate reports of major damage in either ​country.GFZ had earlier pegged the earthquake at 8.2. The U.S. Tsunami Warning System issued a tsunami threat to ​the earthquake.Phivolcs, the Philippine agency, said the ⁠quake was magnitude ‌7.0 and warned of damage ​and tsunami ​waves above one metre (yard), which could continue for ⁠several hours.Also read | Trump says he would not unfreeze Iran's assets ahead before deal is doneIndonesia's BMKG put the quake at ​a 7.7 magnitude.Benjie Ancheta, police chief of ​Alabel town in Sarangani in the Philippines, said the police building had some cracks immediately after the quake, which occurred during their flag-raising ceremony.Ancheta said there were no immediate reports of casualties, but some people fainted ‌following the strong tremor."This is the strongest earthquake we've experienced," Ancheta told Reuters by phone.Also read | Obama casts a long shadow as a hefty Iran bill lands on Trump’s deskWitnesses ​in Indonesia's ​northern city ⁠of Manado said the quake felt very strong.The Philippines and Indonesia are tectonically complex parts of the "Pacific Ring of Fire", ​a seismically active belt stretching from South America to the Russian Far East.