A 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck off the southern coast of Philippines, prompting tsunami warnings from Philippine and Indonesian authorities.
Residents in coastal towns in central and southern Philippines were asked to evacuate as authorities warned of waves over a metre (3.3ft) above normal tide levels.
At least one person was killed in the earthquake on Friday morning, which also led to power cuts and classes being suspended in parts of the country.
The latest tremor comes just over a week after a 6.9 magnitude quake hit Philippine’s central Cebu province, killing 74 people and injuring hundreds.
Footage on local media show overhead network cables swaying as vehicles come to a standstill the moment the 7.5 magnitude quake struck.
Reporters observed a frenzy outside a hospital in Davao City, near the quake’s epicentre, as patients were being treated outdoors in a carpark and crowds thronged the corridors.
A local governor described scenes of panic as tremors rattled his province.
“Some buildings were reported to have been damaged,” Edwin Jubahib, governor of Davao Oriental province, told Philippine broadcaster DZMM. “It was very strong.”
Richie Diuyen, who works at the local disaster agency in the town of Manay, said some students fainted after the quake and that it left her feeling dizzy.
“I am still scared and shook. We couldn’t believe how strong the earthquake was. This was the first time I have experienced that,” Ms Diuyen told the BBC.
The Philippines, which sits on the geologically unstable “Ring of Fire”, has been reeling from a string of devastating natural disasters.
“Filipinos are now experiencing disaster fatigue from typhoons, volcanic minor eruptions and earthquakes,” Dr Teresito Bacolcol, director of the Philippine volcanic agency Phivolcs, said in a media conference on Friday.
Dr Bacolcol called on Filipinos to “accept our reality” that “every now and then we will be jolted by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis”.
“Instead of panicking, we have to prepare,” he said.
The earthquake in Cebu on 4 October was among the strongest and deadliest the nation has experienced in recent years, and has displaced some 80,000 people across the province.
Last month, a super typhoon pummelled through the country’s north, killing 11 people.
Philippine authorities had warned of “destructive” and “life threatening” tsunami waves following Friday’s earthquake, but the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said about an hour later that the threat had passed.
Still, aftershocks with magnitudes ranging from 2.6 to 4.9 have continued rattling the southern region of Mindanao hours after the initial quake, Phivolcs reported.
In nearby Indonesia “minor tsunamis” were detected, with the highest reaching 17cm in the Talaud Islands in North Sulawesi.
Students on the Talaud Islands, an archipelago close to the Philippine border, have been sent home, but the situation remains calm, a local official told the BBC.
Indonesians urged people to “remain calm” and to stay away from buildings damaged by the earthquake.
With reporting by Arie Firdaus from Jakarta and Osmond Chia from Singapore
SOURCE: BBC NEWS
