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A powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck off the southern coast of the Philippines on Friday, killing at least six people. A second strong aftershock measuring 6.9 hit later the same day, claiming at least one more life and prompting tsunami warnings across the region, Al Jazeera reported, citing a local authorities statement.
This one-two punch of seismic activity hit just 10 days after another deadly quake rocked the central Philippines, leaving 79 people dead and hundreds more injured. The first quake struck at 9:43 AM local time (01:43 GMT) on Friday, originating at a depth of 43 kilometres (27 miles) beneath the ocean off the coast of Manay town in Davao Oriental, part of the Mindanao region. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) confirmed that the earthquake was caused by movement along the Philippine Trench, a deep underwater fault to the east of the country. Phivolcs issued a tsunami warning shortly after, predicting waves higher than one meter (approximately 3.3 feet) for the nearby coastal areas, as per Al Jazeera. In the aftermath, Phivolcs urged coastal residents to evacuate immediately, seeking higher ground or moving inland to avoid potential danger. The tremor was felt widely across the region, and the risk of aftershocks loomed, further unsettling the population. Later in the day, a second earthquake struck, measuring magnitude 6.9, adding to the anxiety. Tsunami warnings were extended beyond the Philippines, with parts of Indonesia and Palau also on alert. The United States National Tsunami Warning Centre predicted waves between 0.3 and 1 meter (1-3.3 feet) for these areas, keeping residents on edge, according to Al Jazeera. Indonesia's 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 later lifted its tsunami warning. Then, at around 7 pm (11:00 am GMT), a second earthquake of magnitude 6.9 jolted Manay town, Phivolcs said. It issued a new Tsunami warning, expecting waves in the following two hours that it said could be more than a metre higher than normal tides. "The second one is a separate earthquake, which we call a doublet quake," Phivolcs chief Teresito Bacolcol told The Associated Press. "Both happened in the same area but have different strengths and epicentres." (ANI)
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