A Philippine disaster official said on Monday that authorities are verifying reports of at least five deaths in the southern city of General Santos from a magnitude 7.8 earthquake.
Agripino Dacera, the disaster management chief in General Santos, said the fatalities are still being verified as authorities assess the extent of the damage on the ground.
Tsunami warnings were issued after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Mindanao, the Philippines, on Monday morning.
The seismological agencies of the Philippines and Indonesia have issued tsunami warnings, while the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued an alert also for Palau, Taiwan and Papua New Guinea.
"We advise people to evacuate to higher grounds or go further inland," said Teresito Bacolcol, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
Phivolcs warned that tsunami waves above one meter (yard) could continue for several hours, while aftershocks could also be felt in the region.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said authorities were moving fast to coordinate disaster response.
"The national government is moving and we will not leave Mindanao behind," Marcos said in a statement.
The Philippines lies on the edge of the Pacific's so-called 'Ring of Fire' — an arc of seismic faults that makes the country unusually prone to volcanos, earthquakes and tsunamis.
Source: Reuters, DW
Bd-pratidin English/ ANI
