7-magnitude quake strikes southern Philippines: USGS

Manila: A strong earthquake of 7 magnitude struck off the southern Philippine island of Mindanao on Saturday and small tsunami waves were possible along its coast as well as in parts of Indonesia and Palau, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

There were no reports of casualties or damage from the earthquake, which the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said struck 193 km (120 miles) east of the Philippine city of General Santos, at a depth of 60 km (37 miles).

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially said "hazardous tsunami waves" were possible within 300 km (186 miles) of the epicentre along the coasts of Indonesia and the Philippines.

The center later said: "Tsunami waves are forecast to be less than 0.3 metres above the tide level for the coasts of Indonesia, Palau and the Philippines."

The USGS initially said the magnitude of the quake was 7.2 but then downgraded it to 6.9, before upgrading it to 7 later.

Residents of the southern Philippines said the earthquake lasted about a minute and some people rushed out of their homes but there had been no major damage. "We've alerted the communities for possible tsunami," Clinton Polancos, an official in the southern district of Governor Generoso, told Reuters.

"We've alerted the communities for possible tsunami," Clinton Polancos, an official in the southern district of Governor Generoso, told Reuters.

Meanwhile, the UAE Embassy in Manila has issued a travel advisory for Emiratis urging citizens in the Philippines to take extra care and to follow safety instructions of local authorities.

Residents of the southern Philippines said the earthquake lasted about a minute and some people rushed out of their homes but there had been no major damage.

"We've alerted the communities for possible tsunami," Clinton Polancos, an official in the southern district of Governor Generoso, told Reuters.

"We're fine. The earthquake was not destructive." Indonesian media also said there were no reports of damage.

Aftershocks

Another earthquake, with a magnitude of 5.6, struck off the coast of Davao Oriental following an earlier 7.2 quake, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said Saturday.

In its earthquake bulletin on Saturday, Phivolcs said the earthquake struck at 5:13 pm local time. It noted that the earthquake was an aftershock of a previous quake which struck off the coast of Davao Oriental Saturday morning.

Phivolcs traced its epicenter about 145 kilometers southeast of Governor Generoso town, Davao Oriental.

The earthquake, which was tectonic in origin, had a depth of 43 km. Phivolcs said no aftershocks and damage are expected from this episode.

'Ring of Fire'

The Philippines and Indonesia are both on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", a horse-shoe shaped band of volcanoes and fault lines circling the edges of the Pacific Ocean.

Indonesia has been struck by two serious tsunami this year.

The first followed a 7.5 magnitude quake on the west coast of Sulawesi island in September. More than 2,000 people were killed.

The second tsunami struck a week ago, on Saturday evening, when part of a volcanic island collapsed in the Sunda Strait, between Java and Sumatra islands, generating tsunami waves that killed more than 400 people.