An earthquake of magnitude 7.5 hit the island of Mindanao in the Philippines, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC) announced.
The earthquake was at a depth of 63 kilometers, and the tsunami is expected to hit the Philippines and Japan soon.
The US Geographical Institute estimated that the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.6 and a depth of 32 km.
Philippine seismological agency PHIVOLCS said tsunami waves could hit the Philippines by midnight local time (5:00 p.m. EDT) and could last for hours.
Japan’s NHK broadcaster said tsunami waves of up to one meter were expected to reach Japan’s west coast a little later – by 1:30 a.m. Sunday (5:30 p.m. ET Saturday).
A Philippine government agency advised residents of the eastern provinces of Surigao Del Sur and Davao on the eastern coast of Mindanao to immediately evacuate to higher ground or move inland. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said it expected tsunami waves to hit the southern Philippines and parts of Indonesia, Palau and Malaysia.
