Two powerful offshore earthquakes struck the southern Philippines on Friday, killing at least seven people, while towns near the epicenter suffered structural damage and authorities warned of strong aftershocks.
The first earthquake of magnitude 7.4, occurred in waters off the town of Manay, in the province of Davao Oriental, caused a tsunami warning for the coasts located within a 300-kilometer radius of the epicenter, but alerts were later lifted for the Philippines and Indonesia.
A second magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck the same area seven hours later, prompting a new tsunami warning, and the country’s seismology agency, Phivolcs, warned of possible waves that could exceed normal tides by more than a meter.
People living near coastal areas in the southern Philippines were strongly advised to immediately evacuate to higher ground or move inland, it said in an advisory.
Phivolcs director Teresito Bacolcol described the twin quakes as a “double,” two separate earthquakes that occurred along a massive trench off the country’s east coast.
There were initial reports of damage to homes, buildings and bridges, an official in Manay said, although the full extent of the damage in the Philippines was not immediately clear.
At least seven people were killed, civil defense official Ednar Dayanghirang said in a briefing. The deaths were reported in towns and cities near the epicenter of the earthquake.
The twin earthquakes were among the strongest in recent years to hit the Philippines, which sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” and experiences more than 800 earthquakes 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 a magnitude 6.9 offshore quake.
Vehicles shaking, doors rattling
A video posted on social media and verified by Reuters It showed people in Davao City calmly clinging to parked vehicles that swayed back and forth as the ground shook and metal doors rattled nearby.
Richie Diuyen, a disaster official in Manay, said the earthquake lasted between 30 and 40 seconds and damaged some houses and the facade of a church, as well as leaving roads cracked and bridges impassable.
“We couldn’t bear it before. Now I’m 46 years old and this is the strongest earthquake I’ve ever felt,” Diuyen said by phone.
Earlier, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said authorities were assessing the situation and search and rescue teams would be deployed once it was safe.
“We are working around the clock to ensure that help reaches everyone who needs it,” he said in a statement.
Alert for strong aftershocks
Phivolcs warned of aftershocks and urged people in affected areas to stay away from the coast. Verified images from the southern Philippines showed workers spilling out of buildings to gather in the streets, lamps swinging in shops and offices with cabinets knocked over and workers clinging to desks as structures and fixtures around them creaked.
Video footage from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi showed fishing boats returning from the sea and children playing on a beach where the water had receded.
Phivolcs reduced the magnitude to 7.4 from an initial figure of 7.6 and estimated the depth of the earthquake at 23 kilometers. The second earthquake was also revised downward from 6.9 to 6.8, with a depth of 37 kilometers.
The governor of Davao del Norte in the Philippines said people panicked when the earthquake hit.
“Some buildings were reported to have been damaged,” Edwin Jubahib told the station. DZMM. “It was very strong.”
