Philippines earthquake RECAP: One dead and tourists warned to 'get to high ground'

48 mins ago08:16 Lotti OBrien

Indonesia has lifted a tsunami warning across its North Sulawesi and Papua regions, its geophysics agency said.

The alert was in place after a powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit the Philippines.

1 hour ago07:41 Lotti OBrien

Around 250 patients were evacuated from a hospital which was damaged by the earthquake, Davao Oriental provincial Governor Nelson Dayanghirang Sr told ABS-CBN News Channel.

He added that those evacuated would be temporarily housed in tents.

2 hours ago07:25 Lotti OBrien

Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos Jr says the damage from the earthquake is being assessed and rescue teams are prepared to be deployed when it was safe to do so.

"We are now assessing the situation on the ground and ensuring that everyone is safe. … Search, rescue, and relief operations are already being prepared and will be deployed as soon as it is safe to do so," he said in a statement.

2 hours ago07:18 Lotti OBrien

Dr Teresito Bacolol of the Philippines Volcanic agency said in a press conference on Friday: “We understand that Filipinos are now experiencing disaster fatigues from typhoons, volcanic minor eruptions and earthquakes. We asked them not to feel fearful.

"We have to prepare ourselves. We have to accept our reality that the Philippines is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire - that every now and then we will be jolted by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis. Instead of panicking, we have to prepare.”

2 hours ago07:07 Lotti OBrien

(Image: Getty)

(Image: Getty)

2 hours ago06:36 Lotti OBrien

According to Mati city official Charlemagne Bagasol, a 54-year-old woman has been killed in the quake after a fence of an electrical building fell on her, the BBC reports.

It is understood that the woman lived across the building.

3 hours ago06:26 Lotti OBrien

The Phillippines is still recovering from the powerful earthquake on September 30, which killed at least 74 people and displaced thousands.

The magnitude-6.9 tremor that hit at about 10 pm local time trapped an unspecified number of residents in collapsed houses, nightclubs and other businesses in the hard-hit city of Bogo and outlying rural towns in Cebu province, officials said.

The epicentre of the earthquake, which was set off by movement in an undersea fault line at a dangerously shallow depth of three miles, was about 12 miles northeast of Bogo.

3 hours ago06:19 Lotti OBrien

Classes have been suspended in Iloilo City in central Philippines, and operations at Iloilo City Hall have also been cancelled, to "allow our employees to check on their families at home and thoroughly inspect the building", Mayor Raisa Trenas wrote on Facebook.

Meanwhile, school children in the Talaud Islands off the coast of Indonesia have been sent home, according to Hutdam Manurat, a government official.

3 hours ago06:11 Lotti OBrien

(Image: Getty)

(Image: Getty)

3 hours ago06:06 Lotti OBrien

Authorities in Davao city, near the earthquake's epicentre, say they will activate the red alert, the BBC reports. This is the highest level of disaster response which has been triggered to deal with the impact of the earthquake.

“It ensures full staffing of response agencies such as military, fire protection, police, and immediate interagency coordination," civil defence spokesperon Carlo Alexie Puerto told the broadcaster.

He added that the extent of damage remains unclear, as authorities are "still waiting for validated information from our teams in the field."

3 hours ago06:01 Lotti OBrien

A map has detailed where the earthquake struck overnight.

It centred about 62 kilometres southeast of Manay town in Davao Oriental province.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said dangerous waves could occur within 300 kilometres of the epicentre, with possible waves reaching up to 3 metres above normal tide levels along some Philippine coasts.

(Image: Getty)

4 hours ago05:28 William Morgan

Aftershocks up to 4.9M are still being reported across the Davao Oriental region, the area closest to the major earthquake that struck two hours ago.

However, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, the threat of a tsunami following in its wake has now passed. Some coastal areas saw surges of six inches, but none of the warned three-metre waves were witnessed.

Philippine seismologists have downgraded the earlier earthquake magnitude to 7.4 on the Richter scale.

4 hours ago04:58 William Morgan

More footage emerging from the Philippines has shown the chaos caused by the 7.6M quake, with videos of students sent reeling during the first period as their classrooms began shaking violently.

Mapua School pupils in Davao City, the largest settlement near where the earthquake struck, were seen scrambling from their chairs as the ground underneath began to buckle.

4 hours ago04:43 William Morgan

At 9.43am local time, people across the southern Philippines experienced a massive 7.6M earthquake, with residents reporting being unable to stand amid the buckling ground.

Video from inside a building in Visayas shows solid walls bending and shaking while inhabitants are forced to the floor by the seismic shock.

5 hours ago04:32 William Morgan

The Philippines' President Ferdinand Marcos has released a public statement, calling for calm while urging citizens in affected areas to flee to higher ground amid concerns of large three-metre waves.

Marcos said: "We are now assessing the situation on the ground and ensuring that everyone is safe," adding that civil and military agencies were being directed to evacuate residents in affected areas.

The country's leader also urged people to "stay alert and calm," while repeating instructions to move to higher ground and stay there until further notice.

5 hours ago04:10 William Morgan

Several aftershocks have been felt in the aftermath of the major earthquake that has struck off the coast of the Philippines, with tsunami warnings now in effect.

Tremors measuring between 5.9 and 6.0M have been recorded in the past hour, with residents in the large city Davao seen fleeing the Southern Philippines Medical Center amid the urgent evacuation order.

"Some buildings were reported to have been damaged," Davao Oriental Governor Edwin Jubahib told local broadcaster DZMM. "It was very strong".

Students at Davao de Oro State College sheltered outside amid continued aftershocks (Image: Golden Cornucopia - Davao de Oro)

5 hours ago03:46 William Morgan

Geologists interpreting early data from the large 7.6M quake have warned that 'hazardous waves' could be possible more than 300km away.

The Philippines' many coastal communities can expect freak waves up to three metres above the usual height, with smaller waves likely in Indonesia, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Honolulu has cautioned.

These hazardous waves, extending far beyond the quake's epicentre, can sometimes occur in the wake of major tremors - as visualised by Tohoku University below.

5 hours ago03:39 William Morgan

Indonesian authorities are also urging residents in the regions of the country closest to the earthquake's epicentre to evacuate in the face of a potential tsunami.

People living in the the North Sulawesi and Papua areas are affected by the alert, according to Reuters.

5 hours ago03:35 William Morgan

Residents in the southern Philippines have been issued an urgent tsunami warning in the aftermath of the 7.6M earthquake that struck in the past hour.

The warning reads: "Based on the local tsunami scenario database, it is expected to experience wave heights of more than one metre above the normal tides and may be high on enclosed bays and straits.

"It is forecasted that the first tsunami waves will arrive between 9.43am and 11.42am PST, October 10. These waves may continue for hours."

Residents from Eastern Samar to Sungao Del Sur are being "strongly advised to immediately evacuate," with officials urging people to find higher ground and move inland.

(Image: Getty)