7.1 quake in S. Mindanao

DAVAO CITY—People spilled out of malls and other buildings here as a powerful 7.1-magnitude quake jolted southern Mindanao on Saturday.

No injuries or damage to structures were reported yet.

The offshore temblor, which was tectonic in origin, struck at 11:39 a.m. at a depth of 49 kilometers, with its epicenter located 162 km southeast of Governor Generoso town, Davao Oriental.

“It has a depth of 49 km, which is shallow and expected to cause damages,” said Rommel Allan Labayog, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology Zamboanga City station chief.

The US Geological Survey measured the quake at 6.9 magnitude.

Tsunami warning

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has issued a tsunami warning within a 300-km long coastline between Mindanao and parts of Indonesia, which is close to the epicenter, but lifted it a few minutes after.

In Digos City, the crowd enjoying their weekend at the beach immediately evacuated shortly after they felt the quake past noon on Saturday and learned about the tsunami alert from the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD).

The OCD advisory said minor sea disturbance would likely occur after the 7.1-magnitude quake, with the first tsunami waves to occur between 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Revelers flee

Among the beachgoers in Digos City, Sheila Carumba, 24, said she was enjoying a Christmas party at Aroma Beach Resort in the village of Aplaya, when the temblor happened and everyone scampered away from the beach for fear of a possible tsunami.

Digos beaches, which teemed with people in their post-Christmas revelry on Saturday morning, turned into a ghost town after the quake.

Aside from the cities of Davao, Tagum and most of southern Mindanao, the temblor was also felt in Pamucutan, Zamboanga City. —REPORTS FROM FRINSTON LIM, JULIE ALIPALA AND ORLANDO DINOY