{"id":3232,"date":"2025-10-10T10:35:34","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T10:35:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/10\/10\/massive-7-4-earthquake-off-philippines-what-we-know-so-far\/"},"modified":"2025-10-10T10:35:34","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T10:35:34","slug":"massive-7-4-earthquake-off-philippines-what-we-know-so-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/10\/10\/massive-7-4-earthquake-off-philippines-what-we-know-so-far\/","title":{"rendered":"Massive 7.4 earthquake off Philippines: What we know so far"},"content":{"rendered":"<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>A magnitude 7.4 earthquake has struck off the coast of the southern Philippines, killing at least two people and prompting a tsunami warning for the country and some regions of Indonesia, according to local authorities. The tsumani alert has <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/10\/10\/strong-magnitude-7-6-earthquake-strikes-off-southern-philippines\">since been lifted<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The earthquake comes just 10 days after another <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/10\/1\/deadly-earthquake-hits-philippines-what-we-know-so-far\">deadly earthquake<\/a> hit the central Philippines, killing at least 79 people and injuring hundreds.<\/p>\n<section>\n<h2>Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n<p><span>list of 3 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>list 1 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/gallery\/2025\/10\/2\/death-toll-rises-to-72-after-powerful-earthquake-in-philippines\">Photos: Death toll rises to 72 after powerful earthquake in Philippines<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 2 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/video\/newsfeed\/2025\/10\/2\/al-jazeera-reports-from-scene-of-philippines-earthquake-in-cebu\">Al Jazeera reports from scene of Philippines earthquake in Cebu<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 3 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/10\/10\/strong-magnitude-7-6-earthquake-strikes-off-southern-philippines\">Tsunami threat passes for Philippines, Indonesia after 7.4 quake hits Davao<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Here is more about what has happened and why the country is so vulnerable to earthquakes and natural disasters.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4023532\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4023532\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Interactive_Philippines_Earthquake_Oct10_2025-1760085833.png?quality=80\" alt=\"Interactive_Philippines_Earthquake_Oct10_2025-REVISED\" data-interactive=\"true\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4023532\">(Al Jazeera)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"where-did-the-earthquake-hit-and-why-is-there-a-tsunami-warning\">Where did the earthquake hit and why is there a tsunami warning?<\/h2>\n<p>The earthquake struck at a depth of 43 kilometres (27 miles) at 9:43am local time (01:43 GMT) on Friday, off the coast of Manay town in Davao Oriental in the Mindanao region of the southern Philippines, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).<\/p>\n<p>Phivolcs said the earthquake had been caused by movement in the Philippine Trench at a depth of 23 kilometres (14 miles). The Philippine Trench is a long, narrow depression in the ocean. It is located to the east of the Philippines.<\/p>\n<p>Phivolcs also warned of aftershocks and issued a tsunami warning for the surrounding region, saying it expected waves larger than 1 metre (3.3ft). Coastal residents have been \u201cstrongly advised to immediately evacuate to higher grounds or move farther inland\u201d, the agency said soon after the earthquake struck.<\/p>\n<p>The United States National Tsunami Warning Center also issued tsunami warnings to parts of Indonesia and Palau, expecting waves of 0.3 to 1 metre (1-3.3ft) above tide level in these regions.<\/p>\n<p>However, at about noon in the Philippines (04:00 GMT), the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu said the tsunami threat had passed, according to the Reuters News Agency.<\/p>\n<p>Indonesia\u2019s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said it had detected small tsunami waves in North Sulawesi province with heights ranging from 3.5 to 17 centimetres (1.3 to 6.7 inches) in Melonguane, Beo, Essang and Ganalo in the Talaud Islands districts. The agency has since lifted its tsunami warning.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"have-there-been-any-casualties\">Have there been any casualties?<\/h2>\n<p>Davao Oriental governor Nelson Dayanghirang told the Philippines\u2019 ABS-CBN news channel that at least two people had died as a result of the earthquake.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo far, we have recorded two casualties, and we have evacuated the patients to our hospital, provincial and district hospitals,\u201d he said. At least 250 patients were also evacuated from a damaged hospital and are to be housed in tents, he added.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"what-damage-is-there\">What damage is there?<\/h2>\n<p>Richie Diuyen, a disaster official in Manay, close to the epicentre, said the quake lasted for 30-40 seconds and some houses, the facade of a church, roads and bridges were damaged.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe couldn\u2019t stand earlier. I am 46 years old now, and this is the strongest earthquake I ever felt,\u201d Diuyen told the Reuters news agency.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe damage is quite big,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>The governor of Davao Del Norte told Philippines\u2019 radio station DZMM that people and employees in the region\u2019s capital Tagum \u201care really panicking\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd there are also buildings with damage that have been reported [to us],\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>ABS-CBN reported that students at Bukidnon State University in Malaybalay City rushed out of their classrooms when the quake struck. Schools were also closed in many areas.<\/p>\n<p>Jun Saavedra, a disaster-mitigation officer of Governor Generoso town in Davao Oriental, told The Associated Press that power was cut after the earthquake.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was driving my car when it suddenly swayed and I saw powerlines swaying wildly. People darted out of houses and buildings as the ground shook and electricity came off,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"what-rescue-efforts-have-been-made\">What rescue efforts have been made?<\/h2>\n<p>Philippines\u2019 President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said a search and rescue mission has been deployed to affected regions.<\/p>\n<p>He warned people to \u201cfollow all instructions\u201d from local disaster authorities. \u201cYour safety is our top priority,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The president added that the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) plans to send food and other aid items to affected areas, and said that the Department of Health (DOH) will provide medical help.<\/p>\n<p>The Office of the Vice President said its Mindanao satellite offices are ready to assist people and also provide psychological help to people and young children who are scared or anxious after the earthquake.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"why-is-the-philippines-prone-to-earthquakes-and-is-the-country-prepared\">Why is the Philippines prone to earthquakes and is the country prepared?<\/h2>\n<p>The Philippines lies in the Pacific Ring of Fire, a tectonic belt of volcanic arcs and oceanic trenches in the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n<p>John Dale B Dianala, assistant professor at the National Institute of Geological Sciences, the University of the Philippines in Diliman, told Al Jazeera that just by virtue of the geographic and geologic setting of the country, the Philippines is home to many onshore and offshore tectonic faults.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe whole length of the Philippines, around 1,800km, is right along the boundary of two major tectonic plates \u2013 the Philippine Sea plate and Eurasian plate \u2013 part of the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire. These two plates, thousands of kilometres wide, have been pushing against each other for millions of years at two to three times the rate of fingernail growth,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEach earthquake is a manifestation of the periodic release of the stress along long fractures on these plates \u2013 what geologists call \u2018faults\u2019 \u2013 which rupture several metres of movement along a fault in large earthquakes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen the displacement involves vertical uplift of the seafloor from an offshore fault, like in the Philippine Trench to the east of the country, the movement displaces the water column from the depths of the ocean that then propagate to the surface and coasts in the form of tsunamis. Strong shaking can also cause submarine landslides that can also trigger tsunamis,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>According to Dianala, another big issue the country faces is the cascading effect of different natural hazards.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe week after the earthquake in Cebu, we had floods and another earthquake in Mindanao. At some point, resources can get spread thinly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Indonesia, New Zealand, Japan, the United States, Canada, Russia, Guatemala, Peru and Chile are also countries located within the Ring of Fire.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"how-prepared-is-the-philippines-for-these-natural-disasters\">How prepared is the Philippines for these natural disasters?<\/h2>\n<p>While Phivolcs and the United Nations have been building systems to alert people about upcoming natural disasters, some politicians in the country say the president should be doing more.<\/p>\n<p>According to ABS-CBN, after Friday\u2019s earthquake, Jose Alvarez, a Filipino businessman and member of the country\u2019s House of Representatives, said that if the government has extra income, it should be put into the \u201c2025 budget\u201d so that President Marcos Jr could access it and respond to natural disasters effectively.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo that\u2019s important in 2026, if we still have more earthquakes, more typhoons, more floods,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>However,\u00a0Dianala said the preparedness and resilience of the country to earthquakes has improved since the 1990s. Prior to that, an earthquake would have caused many more casualties and damage to infrastructure than has been caused this time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEarthquakes happen in the country relatively frequently, and that has led to disasters, unfortunately, but has also forced us to make sure we have proper laws and policies from lessons learned,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe National Building Code of the Philippines has been revised to include provisions that require that buildings should not collapse under Intensity 8 shaking,\u201d he noted. But he said how well these protocols are followed remains a question.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A magnitude 7.4 earthquake has struck off the coast of the southern Philippines, killing at least two people and prompting a tsunami warning for the country and some regions of Indonesia, according to local authorities. The tsumani alert has since been lifted. The earthquake comes just 10 days after another deadly earthquake hit the central &#8230; <a title=\"Massive 7.4 earthquake off Philippines: What we know so far\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/10\/10\/massive-7-4-earthquake-off-philippines-what-we-know-so-far\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Massive 7.4 earthquake off Philippines: What we know so far\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3232\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}