A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of the eastern Philippines, triggering a tsunami warning and evacuation order on Catanduanes Island. The state agency warned of a “minor sea-level disturbance” and that waves of less than a metre higher than normal tides may last for hours. While shallow quakes tend to cause more damage than deeper ones, there were no immediate reports of damage on Catanduanes. Most earthquakes are too weak to be felt by humans, but strong and destructive ones remain unpredictable.

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck in the ocean off the coast of the eastern Philippines, triggering a tsunami warning and an evacuation order issued to coastal dwellers on a remote Philippine island. The earthquake, which was initially estimated as a magnitude 6.3 quake by the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), occurred around 9pm (13:00 GMT) approximately 120km (75 miles) from Catanduanes Island, off the main island of Luzon. The state seismological agency warned that tsunami waves of less than a metre high above normal tides would reach Catanduanes and Samar islands, causing a “minor sea-level disturbance”. Local disaster officers have been instructed to ask those living near the sea to evacuate first to higher ground. So far, there were no reports of significant damage to buildings or infrastructure on Catanduanes, a poor farming island frequently hit by typhoons. Quakes are a regular occurrence in the Philippines, as the country sits along the “Ring of Fire”, an arc of intense seismic and volcanic activity that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.