Powerful earthquake off southern Philippines kills at least two

A powerful earthquake was recorded off of the coast of the southern Philippines on Friday morning, damaging buildings, cutting off power supply and killing at least two people.

The 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck at 9.43am local time at about 62 kilometers southeast of Manay town in Davao Oriental province, having been caused by movement in the Philippine Trench at a depth of 23 kilometers.

The earthquake initially prompted those living in coastal areas to evacuate due to the threat of a possible tsunami.

However, by 1 p.m. local time, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center had said the threat had passed.

Office of Civil Defense deputy administrator Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV said in a news briefing that a person had died as a result of the earthquake ,after being hit by falling debris.

In Davao City, the biggest city near the epicenter of the earthquake, children evacuated schools and several buildings sustained damage, including an international airport.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the potential damage was being assessed and rescue teams and relief operations were being prepared and would be deployed when it was safe to do so.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said it was expecting damage and aftershocks from the earthquake.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu said small waves were detected on the coasts of the Philippines and Indonesia before the threat passed about two hours after the quake.

It said small sea fluctuations may continue.

The Philippines is still recovering from an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 that hit on last month. The September 30 earthquake left at least 74 people dead and displaced thousands of people in the central province of Cebu.

One of the world’s most disaster-prone countries, the Philippines is often hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions because of its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the ocean.

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