A powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck off the southern coast of the Philippines on Friday, prompting tsunami warnings across several countries and sending residents in coastal areas scrambling for higher ground, officials said.
The tremor hit waters near the town of Manay in Davao Oriental, Mindanao, on Friday morning, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, or Phivolcs, which warned of possible aftershocks.
At least one person was killed, civil defense official Raffy Alejandro said in a Facebook post.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center later said the tsunami threat to the Philippines had passed, though it had earlier warned of potential waves up to 3 meters (about 10 feet) high.
Some regional alerts, however, remained in effect as authorities continued to monitor the situation.
There were no other reports of casualties from disaster offices in the region contacted by Reuters, but one official in Manay said there were initial reports of damage to homes, buildings and bridges.
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.
Rescuers on stand-by
The U.S. Tsunami Warning System issued a tsunami threat immediately after the quake, saying hazardous waves were possible for coasts within 300 kilometers (186 miles) of the epicenter.
The earthquake came two weeks after the Philippines experienced its deadliest quake in more than a decade, when 74 people were killed on the island of Cebu.
That quake, with a magnitude of 6.9, also struck offshore.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said authorities were assessing the situation on the ground and that search-and-rescue teams would be deployed when it was safe to do so.
"We are working around the clock to ensure that help reaches everyone who needs it,” Marcos said in a statement.
Richie Diuyen, a disaster official in Manay near the epicenter, said the quake lasted 30 to 40 seconds and caused initial damage to some houses, the facade of a church, cracked roads and impassable bridges.
"We couldn’t stand earlier. I am 46 years old now, and this is the strongest earthquake I’ve ever felt,” Diuyen said by phone.
"The damage is quite big,” she added.
Tsunami warnings
Phivolcs revised the magnitude down from an initial reading of 7.6 to 7.4 and put the depth of the quake at 23 kilometers (14 miles).
A tsunami warning was issued in Indonesia for its northern Sulawesi and Papua regions, and the PTWC said some coasts in Indonesia and the Pacific island nation of Palau could see waves of up to 1 meter (about 3 feet).
A video of the quake from the Philippine city of Davao posted on social media and verified by Reuters showed office workers holding on to desks as structures creaked.
Another video showed toppled cabinets and evacuated workers gathering outside.
Jonathan Dolotina, a radio operator at the disaster office in the coastal Philippine city of Mati, said there were no immediate reports of casualties and authorities were checking a damaged school building.
Sawsan Entrino, a disaster officer in Banay-Banay, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) away, told DZMM radio that local classes had been suspended and inspections were underway, but there were no immediate reports of damage.
The governor of Davao del Norte, Edwin Jubahib, said people panicked when the earthquake struck.
"Some buildings were reported to have been damaged,” Jubahib told Philippine broadcaster DZMM. "It was very strong.”