August 31st, 2012
10:06 AM ET

7.6 quake hits off Philippines

[Updated 10:06 a.m. ET] People in eastern areas of the Philippine island of Mindanao should evacuate to higher ground after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami warning, an official of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said, according to the Philippine News Agency.

"Residents living (in) these areas facing the Pacific Ocean are advised to evacuate to higher places," he said, citing the areas of Surigao del Sur and Davao Oriental as particularly vulnerable.

[Updated 9:52 a.m. ET] A tsunami warning has been lifted for Japan, Taiwan and several Pacific islands, but a warning remains for Indonesia and the Philippines, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's tsunami center said Friday.

[Updated 9:50 a.m. ET] The U.S. Geological Survey has revised the magnitude of an earthquake that struck off the coast of the Philippines to 7.6, down from an initial reporting of 7.9, the agency said Friday.

[Posted 9:01 a.m. ET] An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 has struck off the coast of the Philippines, the U.S. Geological Survey said Friday.

The quake prompted a tsunami warning for parts of Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, Guam and other areas, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

"An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines near the epicenter within minutes and more distant coastlines within hours," the tsunami warning center said.

The quake, which was about 20 miles deep, struck just before 8:50 p.m., the agency said. Its center was about 65 miles southeast of the town of Guiuan, in the Philippine province of East Samar.

Ed Serrano, the head of security at the Marco Polo Hotel in the city of Davao, about 250 miles south of Guiuan, said he felt the ground shake.

"The quake was very strong and the hotel guests were panicking. Most of them went outside," he said. "But now the situation is under control and we are waiting for official reports on how strong the quake was."

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

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Filed under: Earthquake • Natural Disasters • Philippines
soundoff (85 Responses)
  1. Anonymous

    Hope no one gets panic or else ! Keep Calm , stay safe and Pray to God .. And 1 more , stop saying about the end of the world .. You're making others panic ..

    August 31, 2012 at 9:54 am | Report abuse |
  2. tess

    I was there too when that happened.

    August 31, 2012 at 9:55 am | Report abuse |
  3. gerard thomas

    My prayer my though, go to philipino peoples.may. God bless you all.

    August 31, 2012 at 9:56 am | Report abuse |
    • rey

      thanks brother.Hope n pray there were no damage.

      August 31, 2012 at 10:08 am | Report abuse |
    • cris

      Thanks for you prayers guys! Let us continue praying for those people who are primarily affected of the earthquake. I am a Filipino as well but I'm pretty far from the epicenter of the earthquake though.

      Thanks!

      August 31, 2012 at 10:38 am | Report abuse |
  4. Leenard

    I have lots of buildings there, I hope none are damaged.

    August 31, 2012 at 10:00 am | Report abuse |
  5. Angeli Hiloma

    Right..
    That's sign..

    August 31, 2012 at 10:01 am | Report abuse |
  6. JP

    It has been one natural or economic disaster after another...hope the folks there are all fine.

    August 31, 2012 at 10:02 am | Report abuse |
  7. StrikeForce

    Geeze....that's never a good way to start off the morning.

    August 31, 2012 at 10:07 am | Report abuse |
  8. You want to help?

    Get off your knees and DO SOMETHING. Praying is a nice sentiment, but people are going to need real, substantial support. Go to your local churches, schools and collect canned goods, medicine, bottled water. Start a kickstarter to raise funds, raise awareness via social media like twitter and facebook. Organize!! Thinking nice thoughts in the form of "prayer" isn't going to do jack for a family who can't get clean drinking water in the middle of a natural disaster area.

    August 31, 2012 at 10:07 am | Report abuse |
    • banasy©

      What a sensible post!
      You're new here, aren't you, lol?

      August 31, 2012 at 11:29 am | Report abuse |
  9. snowboarder

    i hope everyone is safe.

    August 31, 2012 at 10:08 am | Report abuse |
  10. ohioan

    I check the map there at least twice a week for the past few years. It's just an average day. There are hundreds of quakes every day all around the world. Yeah, this one is a bigger one and I hope everything is ok but it's not a sign of the world ending or it would have ended a long time ago.

    August 31, 2012 at 10:09 am | Report abuse |
  11. Paul

    I just called my fiance. She is fine but she is far away from the earthquake since she is in Pampanga. But my prayers go out to those that are closer to it.

    August 31, 2012 at 10:13 am | Report abuse |
  12. Karen

    Yes, I check the USGS frequently as well and the number of earthquakes does not look unusual.

    Based on their records kept from about 1900 this is how many earthquakes we can expect on average in any given year:

    Magnitude 8 and higher –> 1 earthquake per year on average in the world

    Magnitude 7 to 7.9 -> 15 earthquakes on average per year

    Magnitude 6 to 6.9 -> 134 earthquakes on average per year

    Magnitude 5 to 5.9 -> 1,319 earthquakes per year (average)

    Magnitude 4 to 4.9 -> 13,000 earthquakes per year (estimated)

    Magnitude 3 to 3.9 -> 130,000 earthquakes per year (estimated)

    Magnitude 2 to 2.9 -> 1,300,000 earthquakes per year (estimated)!

    Small earthquakes are very common–over a million a year and even a few big earthquakes are expected each year.

    August 31, 2012 at 10:27 am | Report abuse |
  13. sam

    its real!..hope no one has been hurt..we experience it here in Northern Samar.Thanx God were all safe and sound!

    August 31, 2012 at 10:28 am | Report abuse |
  14. snowboarder

    ogie – that's what she said.

    August 31, 2012 at 10:29 am | Report abuse |
  15. charles rozal

    judgement day is near enough..all the signs are showing off..lets pray and have faith..and everything is gonna be alright..

    August 31, 2012 at 10:31 am | Report abuse |
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