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. kim tinoy

    god help us!!

    August 31, 2012 at 10:32 am | Report abuse |
  2. Palimpsest

    Better yet, 1822 wants you.Thats when the Church lifted the ban on Galileo'. Pretty sure they also recognize that earthquakes are not the wrath of God, just plate tectonics, without which, earth's land would be submerged thousands of feet and we would exist. Unless you want to live in Water World, in which case you can go find Kevin Coster and ask him how that went.

    August 31, 2012 at 10:33 am | Report abuse |
  3. MFV

    My ancestral hometown is just close by in western Samar of Calbiga. Quite sure folks there were alarmed and panicky. How long did the quake lasted?

    I remember when I was growing up experiencing earthquakes, without sufficient knowledge what causes it, is quite overwhelming. Sometimes, it happens on early morning and you will be awakened to swaying motion that varies in intensity. The eerie and creaking sound (esp our house was made of woods and big logs for post) that I came to think of it as if a big and gigantic ogre is shaking the whole house. Scary!

    August 31, 2012 at 10:35 am | Report abuse |
    • Pompano

      My hometown was there too! I bet our families were neighbors. It is a small world.

      August 31, 2012 at 11:23 am | Report abuse |
  4. cnnthebest

    Please pray the philippines

    August 31, 2012 at 11:07 am | Report abuse |
  5. can't believe it's not butter

    Yes according to the news people are very calm helping one another,and nobody is blameing the government except a fellow up the mountain named tyrone..lol

    August 31, 2012 at 11:08 am | Report abuse |
  6. DB

    What's a bibble? Oh, you mean the Bible? How is it you place such reverence on a book you can't even spell or capitalize correctly?

    August 31, 2012 at 11:14 am | Report abuse |
  7. mike

    From the video, it looks like it happened in the deeper part of the ocean. Maybe that won't generate a big tsunami.

    August 31, 2012 at 11:15 am | Report abuse |
  8. Najidi

    Signs the End of world

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

    My fiance is in Digos. Warning has just been lifted. Thank God for that.

    August 31, 2012 at 11:33 am | Report abuse |
  10. Emil

    That was the strongest earthquake we ever felt. People went out of their houses, some were crying and some were praying, some where shouting and some where just speechless. Few hours after the earthquake some people were running towards the streets and one guy said there is a tsunami coming. But thank GOD there was none. To GOD be the glory.
    -From Tacloban City

    August 31, 2012 at 11:47 am | Report abuse |
  11. John

    Thank goodness..

    August 31, 2012 at 11:56 am | Report abuse |
  12. John

    Yes n0 tsunami. I can sleep n0w

    August 31, 2012 at 12:01 pm | Report abuse |
  13. Najidi

    Prophet said:Signs the End of world

    August 31, 2012 at 12:07 pm | Report abuse |
  14. theinnerwildkat

    My love and prayers go out to those affected. Hoping all my friends and family are safe.

    August 31, 2012 at 12:22 pm | Report abuse |
  15. dm.pinoy

    Still..we evacuated..

    August 31, 2012 at 12:49 pm | Report abuse |
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