A powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake has shaken the Mindanao region in the southern Philippines early Monday, the US Geological Survey said.
German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) reported that the earthquake struck Mindanao at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles).
The epicentre was 24.7 kilometres (15.3 miles) west-southwest of Burias, Philippines, and had a depth of 35 kilometres (22 miles). It struck at 7:37 a.m.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said in a notice that tsunami waves were possible "within the next three hours" along the coasts of the Philippines, Indonesia, Palau, Taiwan and Papua New Guinea.
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.
