A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck southern Philippines on Saturday, about 120 miles southeast of Mindanao’s largest city, Davao and 59 kilometers below the surface.
A tsunami warning was issued and later lifted for parts in the Pacific closer to the earthquake. Coasts of Indonesia, Philippines and Palau may see tsunami waves of less than a foot above tide levels.
The Philippines Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has advised public to stay away from the coast as a “minor sea level disturbances” is expected. The earthquake scales was revised twice by the USGS, initially the earthquake was 7.2 magnitude and revised to 6.9 and then again to 7.0.
The Philippines and Indonesia lie on the Ring of Fire, a vast Pacific Ocean region where many earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur. The most recent major quake disaster to strike the Philippines was in 2013 when a 7.1-magnitude quake caused more than 220 deaths.
Indonesia has been hit by two major tsunamis this year. More than 400 people were killed last weekend after an erupting volcano, Anak Krakatoa, triggered a deadly wave that struck the coastlines of western Java island and southern Sumatra.
A quake-tsunami in September killed around 2,200 people in Palu on Sulawesi Island, with thousands more missing and presumed dead.