Powerful Earthquake Hit Philippines; Tsunami Warnings Impacting Asia, Christians Urging Prayers

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

MANILA (Worthy News) – A powerful earthquake struck the southern Philippine coast Saturday, prompting calls for prayers with villagers fleeing and authorities issuing tsunami warnings for parts of Asia.

The 7.6 quake struck at 10:37 p.m. local time at a depth of 32 kilometers (20 miles) in Mindanao, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. There were no immediate reports of significant damage or casualties.

Residents of the provinces Suriago del Sur and Davao Oriental on the eastern part of Mindanao were warned to head to higher ground or move farther inland due to possible tsunami waves of more than one meter, or a little more than three feet, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

The institute warned of a “destructive tsunami” with “life-threatening wave heights,” though there were no immediate reports that those waves had eventually hit the area. “Pray for us for our safety,” said Christian Emely Laga from the affected region in a text message to Worthy News. “Few minutes ago, we had an earthquake here,” added Laga, a Bible study teacher and municipal worker who, along with her husband and children, already had been impacted by previous storms.

Footage showed residents fleeing to higher ground on foot or aboard cars, trucks, motorcycles, and tricycle taxis at night.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially said that based on the magnitude and location, it expected tsunami waves to hit the southern Philippines and parts of Indonesia, Palau, and Malaysia. But the center later dropped its tsunami warning.

In Japan, authorities issued evacuation orders for the country’s Pacific coast from the Miyakojima-Yaeyama region to Chiba Prefecture, impacting thousands of people.

The U.S. Tsunami Warning System said that minor sea fluctuations were possible around the Northern Mariana Islands, more than 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) east of the earthquake in Mindanao, but the tsunami threat had passed.

Yet the late Saturday tremor underscored the vulnerability of the Philippines as one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries. It is located on the Pacific “Ring of Fire, an arc of seismic faults around the ocean. The Asian nation is also facing about 20 typhoons and storms each year, according to official records.

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