Magnitude 7.5 earthquake strikes Philippines, tsunami warning issued

An earthquake of magnitude 7.5 struck Mindanao, Philippines on Saturday, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said.

The quake was at a depth of 63 km (39 miles), EMSC added.

The US tsunami warning system issued a tsunami warning after the quake.

 The U.S. Tsunami Warning System said there could be waves of up to 3 metres above the tide level along some Philippine coasts.

 The Japanese broadcaster NHK said tsunami waves of up to a metre were expected to reach Japan's southwestern coast around 30 minutes later - by 1:30 a.m. on Sunday (1630 GMT on Saturday).

 Earthquakes are common in the Philippines, which lies on the "Ring of Fire", a belt of volcanoes circling the Pacific Ocean that is prone to seismic activity.

 Magnitude    7.5
Region    MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
Date time    2023-12-02 14:37:08.0 UTC
Location    8.484 ; 126.344
Depth    63 km
Distance    102 km ESE of Butuan, Philippines / pop: 309,000 / local time: 22:37:08.0 2023-12-02
19 km ENE of Tagbina, Philippines / pop: 10,600 / local time: 22:37:08.0 2023-12-02