Magnitude 7.2 earthquake hits off coast of Philippines' southern island - USGS

  29 December 2018    Read: 1158
Magnitude 7.2 earthquake hits off coast of Philippines

A major 7.2 magnitude earthquake has hit off south Philippines, the US Geological Survey reported. Hazardous tsunami waves reported possible in Philippines and Indonesia, Sputnik reports.

The United States Geological Survey reported that a major 7.2-magnitude earthquake had struck off south of Philippines on Saturday. The large earthquake struck off the coast of the Philippines' southern Mindanao island, the US Geological Survey added.

The quake was registered at 03:39 GMT, 101 kilometres (62.7 miles) to the southeast of the Pundaguitan coastal area, according to the agency's data.

The focus of the earthquake was located at the depth of 49 kilometres. There have been no immediate reports on casualties or damage caused by the quake.

The Pacific Warning Center announced that a tsunami treat exists for parts of the Pacific after the earthquake.

Earthquakes with magnitude above 7.0 Richter scale are considered major earthquakes. Such earthquake usually causes damage to most buildings, doing severe damage to many of them. The severe damage is usually limited to 250 kilometres (155.343 miles) from the quake's epicentre. Major earthquakes usually felt across great distances.


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