-
Staff writer, with Reuters
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the southern coast of Mindanao in the Philippines at 7:38am today, prompting the US Tsunami Warning System to issue an alert for neighboring countries, including Taiwan.
The system issued a purple alert indicating a “tsunami threat.”
The potential threat zone includes Taiwan, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Yap and Palau.
Photo courtesy of the US Geological Survey
There were no immediate reports of major damage in the Philippines or Indonesia.
The quake struck at a depth of 10km, said the German Research Centre for Geosciences, which had earlier pegged the earthquake at magnitude 8.2.
Phivolcs, the Philippine agency, said the quake was magnitude 7 and warned of damage and tsunami waves above 1m, which could continue for several hours.
Indonesia’s BMKG put the quake at a 7.7 magnitude.
The Central Weather Administration said it would closely monitor the subsequent impact of the quake and provide the latest updates as they become available.
