7.8 magnitude earthquake shakes southern Philippines, triggers tsunami watch

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake shook part of the southern Philippines early Monday, and a tsunami was possible on some regional coasts.

Power outages were reported and people were urged to go to higher ground. No further information on damage or casualties was immediately available.

The epicenter was 8 miles southwest of General Santos city on the island of Mindanao and had a depth of 6.2 miles, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. It struck at 7:37 a.m. local time.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said tsunami waves up to 10 feet were possible on some coasts of the Philippines. Waves up to 3 feet were possible on some coasts of Indonesia and Malaysia.

“We advise people to evacuate to higher grounds or go further inland,” Teresito Bacolcol, the head of the Philippine institute, warned people living in coastal areas.

Smaller tsunami waves were possible in Taiwan, Japan, Guam, Papua New Guinea and several island nations and territories in the western Pacific. There was no threat to Hawaii or the American mainland coast, the PTWC said.

Residents felt the earthquake tremors in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi and North Maluku provinces.

Aftershocks up to 6.1 magnitude followed, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It measured the original quake at 34 miles deep. Variations in measurements by different agencies are common in the immediate aftermath of an earthquake.

The Philippines, one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries, is often hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the ocean. The archipelago is also lashed by about 20 typhoons and tropical storms each year.