A powerful magnitude 7.6 earthquake has struck the southern Philippines, triggering fears of a possible tsunami as big aftershocks rumbled in the area.
The initial quake struck at a depth of 32 kilometres at 10.37pm on Saturday local time (1.37am AEDT) about 21 kilometres northeast of Hinatuan municipality on Mindanao island, the US Geological Survey said.
Several hours later, early on Sunday, two powerful aftershocks of magnitude 6.4 and magnitude 6.2 shook the region following the first quake, USGS said.
The initial quake triggered tsunami warnings and orders for coastal residents to flee to higher ground.
“Destructive tsunami is expected with life threatening wave heights,” the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said on X, formerly Twitter.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii also issued an alert but later posted that the danger had lifted.
“There is n...
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