Tsunami watch triggered after 7.8 magnitude earthquake shakes southern Philippines

A powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake shook the Mindanao region in the southern Philippines early Monday, and a tsunami was possible on some regional coasts.

No information on damage was immediately available.

The epicenter was 15.3 miles west-southwest of Burias, Philippines, and had a depth of 22 miles, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It struck at 7:37 a.m. local time.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said tsunami waves up to 10 feet were possible on some coasts of the Philippines. Waves up to 3 feet were possible on some coasts of Indonesia and Malaysia.

Smaller tsunami waves were possible in Taiwan, Japan, Guam, Papua New Guinea and several island nations and territories in the western Pacific.

Residents felt the earthquake tremors in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi and North Maluku provinces.

The Philippines, one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries, is often hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the ocean. The archipelago is also lashed by about 20 typhoons and tropical storms each year.