Philippines earthquake kills 15, prompts tsunami fears: All to know

A powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the southern Philippines off the island of Mindanao, prompting tsunami risks in several countries.  At least 15 people were feared dead as a result of the tremors.

Here is all we know about the earthquake and its immediate aftermath:

The quake hit early in the morning, shortly before 7:40am local time on Monday (23:40 GMT Sunday), according to the United States Geological Survey.

The epicentre was offshore, 32km (20 miles) west of Maasim in Sarangani province on the southern tip of the Philippines’ Mindanao island. The earthquake occurred at an estimated depth of 33km (21 miles).

Schools were reopening in the Philippines after a long break, and the tremors were felt strongly in a dozen provinces as far from the epicentre as 420km (261 miles) in the city of Manado on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

By late morning local time, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology had reported 138 aftershocks, the highest at a magnitude 6.7.

Philippine authorities were assessing the damage from the quake, with the office of civil defence seeking to verify initial reports that 15 people had been killed and 129 injured, mostly from falling debris.

Tsunami alerts were issued in the southern Philippines, northern Indonesia and the Malaysian state of Sabah on Borneo island. Japan’s meteorological agency issued an advisory and said a tsunami of 0.2 metres (8in) or lower had been observed, with some disruption to ferries and precautionary beach closures.