Five killed as powerful quake strikes Philippines

FE Team | Published: October 10, 2025 20:59:13

DAVAO (Philippines), Oct 10 (AFP): A powerful magnitude-7.4 earthquake struck off the southern Philippines on Friday, leaving at least two people dead and triggering regional tsunami warnings that were later lifted.
The quake hit about 20 kilometres (12 miles) off Manay in the Mindanao region at 9:43 am (0143 GMT), according to the United States Geological Survey. One person was killed when a wall collapsed in Mati city, near the epicentre, police said.
The quake also caused a local man to have a fatal heart attack, the city disaster office told AFP.
Philippine authorities issued a tsunami warning and ordered evacuations of coastal communities on the eastern seaboard deemed at risk from waves of up to three metres (10 feet) high, but only a 32-centimetre (1-foot) wave was observed and the alert was later lifted.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre also lifted its alert for the Philippines, Palau and Indonesia at around noon, saying "there is no longer a tsunami threat from this earthquake".
Wes Caasi, a local official in Tagum city, northwest of Manay, told AFP that a government event at the city hall was thrown into chaos as "the people panicked, they screamed and ran".
Confirming videos that circulated on social media, Caasi said he saw city workers scrambling down a metal Christmas tree they were decorating when the quake struck.
Girl's remains identifed 14 years after Japan tsunami
Human remains found in Japan have been identified as those of a six-year-old girl missing since the massive earthquake and tsunami of 2011, police said Friday.
The disaster killed 15,900 people, with 2,520 people still listed as missing as of the end of February, according to the National Police Agency. Teeth and fragments of jaw were discovered in February 2023 in the northern region of Miyagi, a spokesman for the local police told AFP.