Tsunami warnings issued as earthquake of 7.5 magnitude strikes the Philippines

An earthquake of at least magnitude 7.5 struck Mindanao in the southern Philippines late on Saturday, triggering evacuation orders for some areas of the country and for southwest Japanese coasts because of warnings of tsunami waves of 3 feet or more.

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The quake struck at a depth of 32 kilometres at 10:37pm local time about 32 kilometres northeast of Hinatuan municipality in Surigao del Sur province on Mindanao island, the USGS said.

The Philippine Seismology Agency Phivolcs said the waves could hit the Philippines by midnight local time and continue for hours, though there were no initial reports of significant wave damage by that time.

The US Tsunami Warning System said there could be waves of up to 3 metres above the usual high tide level along some Philippine coasts, though it subsequently said there was no risk of a tsunami.

"Based on all available data... the tsunami threat from this earthquake has now passed," it said.