(AP) — A magnitude 7.8 earthquake shook part of the southern Philippines early Monday, and a tsunami was possible on some regional coasts.
Power outages were reported and people were urged to go to higher ground. No further information on damage or casualties was immediately available.
The epicenter was 13 kilometers (8 miles) southwest of General Santos city on the island of Mindanao and had a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. It struck at 7:37 a.m.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said tsunami waves up to 3 meters (10 feet) were possible on some coasts of the Philippines. Waves up to 1 meter (3 feet) were possible on some coasts of Indonesia and Malaysia.
“We advise people to evacuate to higher grounds or go further inland,” Teresito Bacolcol, the head of the Philippine institute, warned people living in coastal areas.
Residents felt the earthquake tremors in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi and North Maluku provinces.
Aftershocks up to 6.1 magnitude followed, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It measured the original quake at 55 kilometers (34 miles) deep. Variations in measurements by different agencies are common in the immediate aftermath of an earthquake.
