There is no threat to Sri Lanka from the powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck off the coast of the Indonesian island of Flores today, the Disaster Management Centre said. 

A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Saturday morning, damaging buildings and shocking residents awake, forcing them to flee their homes.

At least one person was killed, according to the national disaster mitigation agency BNPB, which revised down an earlier toll of two.

The earthquake struck around 6 a.m. local time, about 68 kilometers northwest of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), and was followed by a series of aftershocks.

It initially had the potential to generate a tsunami, triggering a warning which was later lifted, BNPB said.

About 500,000 people were exposed to very strong or severe shaking, which is capable of slight to moderate damage in well-built structures and serious damage in poorly built structures, according to the USGS.

The quake was felt across Flores, a lush and mountainous island in the Sunda chain, which also includes tourist hotspot Bali. Flores is known for its colorful volcanic lakes and as a gateway to Komodo National Park, home of the largest lizards on Earth. Its population of roughly 2 million is largely spread out in small villages.

Videos posted to social media showed buildings collapsing and panicked residents running and screaming, as dust filled the sky. One video showed damage to a hospital in the village of Aeramo.

About 2,000 residents of Nageko regency evacuated following the quake, as a precautionary measure, BNPB said.

The agency deployed a helicopter along with its emergency response team, noting that the landscape of the area, which consists of many islands, makes access challenging.

Footage from the national search and rescue agency shared by CNN Indonesia showed rescue workers digging through rubble, searching for possible survivors.

A preliminary damage assessment found about 15 buildings had been damaged, including homes and government offices, BNPB said. 

An archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, Indonesia is prone to seismic activity and has suffered several devastating earthquakes in the past. The country sits on the Ring of Fire, a band around the Pacific Ocean that sets off frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity. The ring is one of the most seismically active areas in the world, spanning from Japan and Indonesia on one side of the Pacific to California and South America on the other. (Newswire/CNN)

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More than 100 people were killed after a powerful earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday (Aug 10), toppling buildings, damaging hospitals and infrastructure and trapping people beneath the rubble in what authorities called the country’s strongest earthquake of the century.

The quake struck just days after Abelardo De La Espriella was sworn in as president, thrusting the new administration into its first major crisis, with memories still fresh of devastating twin earthquakes in neighbouring Venezuela in June.

“The national government has all of its capabilities deployed to protect lives, assist affected communities and deliver aid wherever it is needed,” he said in a national address around 1pm local time, upon declaring a national state of emergency and giving a death toll of 111. 

“The first priority is rescuing the people trapped under the rubble.”

De La Espriella visited Quibdo, the capital of coastal Choco province, where he promised rent subsidies for those who have lost homes, and then traveled to Cali, western Colombia’s largest city.

Though he had been expected to give an updated national death toll on Monday evening, De La Espriella offered only figures for Valle del Cauca province, where Cali is located, saying 35 people had died there, while 700 had been injured. 

Some local media have cited a national total of 132 deaths, though the origin of the figure is unclear.

The US Geological Survey said the 7.4 magnitude quake struck at a depth of 107km. Colombia’s geological service said it was the strongest earthquake recorded in the country in the 21st century. 

As night fell, rescue workers and volunteers with headlamps hurried to find people still trapped under rubble.

Authorities in Cali, Armenia and Manizales announced curfews, with Cali’s mayor saying threats of looting had forced him to deploy police and military personnel to the streets. De La Espriella promised 1,000 additional security personnel for the city.

Cali authorities said the Petronio Alvarez festival, an annual celebration of Pacific music which was due to start on Wednesday, has been postponed.

Video broadcast by Caracol Television showed a group of people pulling a small baby covered in dust from under a pile of rubble. Caracol reported the six-month-old girl and her mother were rescued from under a five-story building in Cali.

Video from Cali also showed rescue workers rappelling people out from the windows of a local hospital.

SHELTER, CLEAN WATER AMONG URGENT NEEDS: IFRC

Shelter, clean water and sanitation are among the most urgent needs following the earthquake, with some people sleeping on the streets on the first night after the disaster, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

Edwin Armenta, the IFRC’s operations manager in Bogota, said relief teams were also facing difficulties reaching and communicating with some affected communities, with roads damaged and internet connections unavailable in some municipalities.

“Probably we’re going to need additional support, but so far the information is very limited because in some municipalities the internet connection is very difficult,” Armenta told CNA’s Asia First.

Armenta added that the IFRC had launched an initial emergency operation of 1 million Swiss francs (US$1.2 million) to support the Colombian Red Cross response in affected municipalities.

RING OF FIRE

Colombia sits along the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire and records thousands of mostly minor earthquakes each month.

Northwestern University seismologist Suzan van der Lee said the quake’s powerful magnitude, inland location and strike-slip motion may have amplified damage in populated valleys despite its considerable depth.

“This one was far below the crust, and in theory it shouldn’t cause as much shaking. At this magnitude, it did actually cause a lot of shaking,” she said, adding Colombia is particularly difficult for seismologists to analyse due to the interaction of several major tectonic plates.

The Colombian Geological Service said 21 aftershocks had been recorded by late Monday and warned that additional tremors were likely.

Colombia’s coffee region was devastated by a magnitude 6.2 earthquake in 1999 that killed more than 1,000 people, particularly around Armenia and Pereira. (CNA)

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The Geological Survey and Mines Bureau says there is no danger to Sri Lanka from a magnitude 7.1 quake in the Kumamota area of southern Japan today (28). 

According to the Japan Times, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Kumamoto Prefecture in the Kyushu region on Tuesday, registering up to shindo 7, the highest level on the Japanese seismic intensity scale.

The weather agency issued a tsunami advisory for coastal areas of the Ariake and Yatsushiro seas, urging people to stay away from the coast.

The first tsunami wave was believed to have arrived in those seas shortly after the quake. More waves were expected to arrive soon.

A strong 6 on the shindo scale was observed in the cities of Yatsuhiro, Uto and the towns of Mashiki and Misato, as well as the city of Kumamoto’s Minami Ward.

Other cities in Kumamoto, as well as the neighboring prefectures of Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Fukuoka, Saga and Miyazaki, also felt strong shaking of a lower 5 or stronger on the Japanese scale.

The quake’s epicenter was in the city of Uki, just south of the city of Kumamoto, at a depth of 10 kilometers. (Newswire, Japan Times)

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A child has been rescued from the rubble in Venezuela, six days since the country was hit by devastating twin earthquakes.

The boy, identified by the Reuters news agency as Klieber Moran, was rescued early on Tuesday, the only reported survivor on the sixth day of rescue efforts, according to Venezuelan authorities.

Moran was pulled from the Los Corales Garden ⁠1 building in La Guaira state by rescuers from Jordan, ⁠Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, said in a message via ​Telegram.

Venezuela was hit by ‌two earthquakes of ‌ magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 less than a minute apart last ‌Wednesday, toppling buildings and trapping thousands of people beneath the rubble, according to authorities and rescue teams.

Moran, described as three years old by Rodríguez, but as two years old by National Assembly president Jorge Rodríguez, was taken for medical treatment, ‌the message said.

“We must hold on to the hope of continuing to find people alive beneath the ​rubble,” Jorge said in a televised address. “Early this morning, a two-year-old boy was rescued and is currently receiving care at a health centre in Caracas.”

A shipment from the UN children’s agency, Unicef, carrying 47 ⁠metric tons of humanitarian supplies arrived in Venezuela on ​Tuesday, UN spokesperson ​Stéphane Dujarric said, adding ​the equipment would help support children and families in ​need.

The shipment ‌includes emergency ​health kits ​for urgent medical care, including supplies for safe births, newborn care, disease prevention, and treatment, Dujarric added.

The government puts the death toll at more than 1,900, with more than 10,000 people injured. Experts say that is a significant undercount as more bodies are hauled from the rubble every day and morgues struggle to handle the influx.

Among the living, a humanitarian crisis is unfolding. UN agencies expressed concern about the health effects of thousands of displaced people sleeping for days in the open, or in crowded, unsanitary shelters.

Nasa estimates that nearly 59,000 buildings have been damaged or destroyed by the earthquakes, which would put the number of people affected by the quakes in the hundreds of thousands. Unicef said on Tuesday that 680,000 children are in need of humanitarian assistance nationwide. (The Guardian)

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The wife and children of Argentine soccer player Lucas Trejo have been found dead amid the devastating double earthquakes in Venezuela.

The country was hit by 7.2 and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes on Wednesday, with a reported death toll of at least 1,430 people.

And according to family friend Edson Tortolero, Trejo’s wife, Yanina Maranella, and children, Aarón and Ainhoa, are among those who tragically died in the disaster.

Tortolero, a soccer player himself, wrote on Instagram (originally in Spanish): “We inform all the people of Venezuela and Argentina that the bodies of Lucas Trejo’s family members have been found lifeless.

“We thank everyone for the support and ask for the most sincere respect for his family at this time. WE PRAY FOR ETERNAL LIFE FOR THEM.”

Trejo’s club, Venezuelan side Club Sport Marítimo de La Guaira, also confirmed the deaths in a statement and said that there had been a 74-hour search for his wife and children.

“Club Sport Maritimo La Guaira deeply mourns the loss suffered by Lucas Trejo’s family. We ask for respect for his relatives and teammates,” a statement read. “After a 74-hour search, they were found deceased.”

Trejo, 38, joined Maritimo earlier this year and has spent much of his playing career in Venezuela.

His father and brother, according to reports in Argentina, had travelled to Venezuela to help him in the agonizing search for Yanina, Aarón and Ainhoa. The defender posted a sweet picture of his family to his Instagram story on Saturday, and wished her a happy birthday with a post in April.

“Happy birthday my love!!!,” he wrote. “May God richly bless your life and continue to fulfill the desires of your heart.

“It is a blessing for us as a family to have you and to move forward in the purpose we have together! With you everything is easier and more beautiful always.”

Tragically, Maritimo has been rocked by other losses as well.

The club mourned the passing of 14-year-old player Victor Palacios, who was a homegrown player for them.

Maritimo also announced the passing of club staffer Adriana Aranguren.

At least 68,900 people have been reported missing as a result of the earthquakes as search operations continue. (New York Post)

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Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, has announced a state of emergency after the country was struck by powerful back-to-back earthquakes, levelling buildings in the capital, Caracas, and prompting fears of mass casualties.

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck near San Felipe, about 284km (176 miles) west of Caracas, at 22:04 GMT on Wednesday, followed almost immediately by a magnitude 7.5 quake near Yumare, about 293km (182 miles) west of the capital, according to the US Geological Survey.

In an address to the nation late on Wednesday, Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez declared a state of emergency as authorities continued to assess the extent of the damage.

“We ask the population to remain calm and united,” she said on state TV.

Rodríguez said the country’s main airport had been closed after suffering “severe damage” and announced that the metro and train systems had been halted. “We send our immediate condolences to those who have lost relatives,” Rodríguez added, although she did not say how many casualties or fatalities there had been.

Rodríguez urged citizens to evacuate damaged buildings.Rodriguez did not provide any information on injuries or fatalities.

The US Geological Survey estimated that casualties could range from 10,000 to 100,000 people.

Many Venezuelans were at home when the earthquakes struck because Wednesday was a public holiday marking a decisive 1821 battle in Venezuela’s war of independence from Spain. (Al Jazeera)

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A 6.7 magnitude earthquake shook part of Indonesia’s Sulawesi island Tuesday and was followed by strong aftershocks.

The initial tremor caused strong shaking lasting more than a minute around Palu, a city of about 400,000 people and the capital of Central Sulawesi province.

Scattered damage was reported, and several hospitals evacuated patients, some with IV drips, outside as a safety measure. No information on casualties was immediately available.

The initial quake was centered 43 kilometers (27 miles) east-southeast of Palu, and the U.S. Geological Survey said it was about 10 kilometers (6 miles) deep. 

The strongest subsequent quake measured 5.2 magnitude. There was no tsunami risk.

Indonesia is crossed by several seismic faults, and earthquakes and volcanic activity are common. (ABC News)

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The death toll from a magnitude 7.8 earthquake in the southern Philippines has reached at least 15, with more than 100 people injured, disaster agency officials said.

The quake struck off the southern island of Mindanao on Monday (Jun 8), collapsing buildings and sparking tsunami warnings across the region.

Philippine authorities urged people in affected coastal regions to move to higher ground after the offshore quake hit south of General Santos, a city of about 720,000.

A series of powerful aftershocks rocked the area from about two hours after the first quake, according to the United States Geological Survey, with the largest measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a notice that tsunami waves were possible “within the next three hours” along the coasts of the Philippines, Indonesia, Palau, Taiwan and Papua New Guinea.

Police Major Roland Catoburan told AFP two people had been crushed to death by a collapsing wall in Alabel, a municipality near General Santos City.

“We have casualties. A wall fell on them,” he said, adding officers were not being allowed to re-enter their stations, some of which now had cracked walls.

Master Sergeant Robert Dagon of the General Santos City police separately confirmed another reported death and four injuries.

“Many buildings were affected, but I cannot enumerate them now because we are busy with ongoing rescues,” Dagon said.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos suspended school classes in affected areas of Mindanao while calling on residents in coastal areas to evacuate immediately.

The country’s national disaster agency said reports of casualties were “still being verified”.

The airport in General Santos was also closed until further notice, officials said.

Monday’s quake triggered evacuation warnings for coastal areas of neighbouring Indonesia and Malaysia, with both nations subsequently lifting their alert.

Japanese authorities issued a tsunami advisory for swathes of its Pacific coast, projecting waves of up to 1m to hit different regions from 11.30 am. (CNA)

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A powerful earthquake has struck the Philippines, destroying buildings and triggering tsunami alerts across Asia.

The magnitude 7.8 quake struck off the southern island of Mindanao shortly before 7:40am local time on Monday (23:40 GMT Sunday), according to the United States Geological Survey.

The initial earthquake was followed by more than an hour of aftershocks, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS).

Video posted on official social media channels showed a three-storey building that housed a Jollibee restaurant collapsing in a cloud of debris and dust in Mindanao’s General Santos City, startling onlookers.

Other images showed extensive damage to buildings, including smashed windows and caved-in roofs.

The Philippine seismology authority said the city, which lies in the southern region of Soccsksargen, experienced a 7 out of 10 “very strong” earthquake on its internal intensity scale.

The number of potential casualties is yet to be confirmed.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos said on Monday morning that emergency agencies had been activated, including the Office of Civil Defence and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

Marcos urged people to follow government advisories about the risk of tsunami waves.

“To our kababayans [countrymen] in the affected provinces, please heed the tsunami warning. Move to higher ground now. Do not wait. Your life is more important than anything left behind,” Marcos said.

Marcos said schools across several provinces of Mindanao have been closed for the day.

The US-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said earlier that tsunami waves as high as 3 metres (9.8 feet) could hit coastal areas of the Philippines, and waves of up to 1 metre (3.3 ft) were possible in parts of Indonesia and Malaysia.

The first waves were expected to hit the Philippines and parts of Indonesia at about 10am local time (02:00 GMT), followed by southern Japan and Taiwan at about 11am (03:00 GMT), and Micronesia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands an hour later, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

The US National Tsunami Warning Center, which downgraded the quake from an earlier estimate of magnitude 8.2, said the quake posed no threat to coastal areas of the US.

Officials in Japan, the Philippines, and Indonesia have issued alerts warning of hazardous waves and advising citizens in coastal areas to get to safety.

Philippine authorities said people in nine provinces – including Sarangani, Davao Occidental, Tawi-Tawi and Sulu – should immediately evacuate to higher ground or further inland.

“Owners of boats in harbours, estuaries or shallow coastal water of the above-mentioned provinces should secure their boats and move away from the waterfront,” PHIVOLCS said.

“Boats already at sea during this period should stay offshore in deep waters until further advised.”

Indonesia also issued an immediate evacuation order for parts of northern Sulawesi, northern Gorontalo province and the Sangihe Islands, with residents urged to move to higher ground.

A tsunami warning is also in place for Japan’s outlying islands, including Okinawa and the country’s southern coast.

Officials in the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam cancelled earlier tsunami warnings, but said there was still a risk of strong currents and dangerous beach conditions. (Al Jazeera)

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A strong earthquake rattled Hokkaido early Monday, the U.S. and Japanese meteorological agencies reported, the latest in a series of powerful tremors to hit Japan.

The magnitude 6.2 quake struck shortly before 5:30 a.m. in Hokkaido’s southern region, at a depth of 83 kilometres, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) reported.

The quake registered an upper 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale in the town of Urahoro, Hokkaido, and a lower 5 in the town of Niikappu, also in Hokkaido, according to the JMA.

No tsunami alert was issued, and the U.S. Geological Survey predicted that property damage and threats to life were minimal, given the region’s limited population, some 200 km east of Sapporo.

Ayataka Ebita, a JMA official who briefed reporters early Monday, said the latest quake is unrelated to the JMA’s special advisory warning of the increased risk of a megaquake — magnitude 8.0 or stronger — after last Monday’s magnitude 7.7 earthquake off Iwate Prefecture.

“It is a one-off earthquake,” he said.

But “in areas that experienced strong shaking, the danger of falling rocks and landslides has increased,” the JMA official told reporters.

Six people were reported injured as a result of last week’s quake, which shook large buildings in Tokyo, hundreds of kilometres from the epicentre.

In addition, 80-centimetre tsunami waves lashed a port in Iwate, while small waves also hit elsewhere in northern Japan.

The special advisory — which covers 182 municipalities from Hokkaido to Chiba Prefecture — expires at 5 p.m. Monday, though this doesn’t mean the risk will be entirely gone once it is lifted. (Japan Times)

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A tsunami warning, with the threat of waves of up to 3 meters, was issued Monday evening for Iwate Prefecture, Aomori Prefecture and Hokkaido in northern Japan after a quake struck off the coast of Iwate.

An NHK anchor urged local residents to move to higher ground, away from rivers and coastlines, calling on people to “remember the 3/11 disaster.”

“Tsunami! Evacuate!” flashed on NHK in English for viewers who don’t speak Japanese. “Don’t turn back.”

The quake, which struck at a depth of 10 kilometres at 4:53 pm, registered a 7.4 magnitude, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Shaking was felt as far away as Tokyo, where buildings swayed for several minutes. (Japan Times)

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The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) says there is no effect on Sri Lanka from the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that hit the ⁠Northern Molucca Sea off the coast of the city of ⁠Ternate, Indonesia.

The DMC said there was no risk to Sri Lanka, despite Tsunami warnings being issued to several neighbouring countries. 

The earthquake struck on Thursday, killing at least one person, causing waves of up to 2.5 feet and triggering a tsunami warning that was subsequently lifted.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the tremor hit at a shallow depth of 35 kilometres in the Molucca Sea between the Sulawesi and Maluku island groups in the early morning.

One person was killed when a building collapsed in the city of Manado in North Sulawesi province.

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) initially said hazardous tsunami waves were possible within 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) of the epicentre along the coasts of Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia.

Within half an hour of the quake, waves up to 75 centimetres were recorded in North Minahasa and 20 centimetres in Bitung, both in the north of Sulawesi island, according to Indonesia’s BMKG geological agency.

Thirty-centimetre waves were also logged in North Maluku province.

The PTWC lifted its warning just over two hours after the tremor, saying the tsunami threat “has now passed.” (Newswire/Al Jazeera)

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According to the Earthquake Information Bulletin, the tremor was recorded at a depth of 25 km, with preliminary coordinates at latitude 2.68°N and longitude 96.07°E.

Requesting people living near and along the coastal areas around Sri Lanka to remain vigilant, the National Tsunami Early Warning Centre said, however, there is no Tsunami threat to Sri Lanka. (Newswire)

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The National Tsunami Early Warning Centre of the Department of Meteorology announced that an earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale occurred in the Indian Ocean off Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, at 10:26 am today (27).

According to the Earthquake Information Bulletin, the tremor was recorded at a depth of 25 km, with preliminary coordinates at latitude 2.68°N and longitude 96.07°E.

While people living near and along the coastal areas around Sri Lanka have been advised to remain attentive to future announcements in this regard, the National Tsunami Early Warning Centre said there is no Tsunami threat for Sri Lanka. (Newswire)

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A powerful magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck northern Afghanistan early on Monday near the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province.

A health department spokesperson for the neighboring Samagan province said at least seven people have died and 150 were injured, Reuters news agency reported.

Afghanistan’s national disaster management agency said on X that five had died and reported a similar number of injuries.

Hurriyat Radio Pashto reported a higher death toll in Samagan, saying that 20 people had been killed there. The pro-Taliban radio said that another 19 people have died in Kholm district.

The death toll from the earthquake may increase further, as the injured are still being taken to health centers from the affected areas, Hurriyat Radio said in a post on X.

What else do we know about the earthquake?

The earthquake struck at just before 1 a.m. local time Monday (8:30 p.m. GMT) at a depth of 28 kilometers (17 miles) some 22 kilometers from Kholm, near Mazar-i-Sharif, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Kholm is home to around 65,000 people, while about 523,000 live in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan’s fifth-largest city. 

In Mazar-i-Sharif, many people ran into the street in the middle of the night, fearing their homes might collapse, a correspondent for French news agency AFP reported.

USGS issued an orange alert on its automated PAGER system, which means “significant casualties are likely and the disaster is potentially widespread.”

Monday’s earthquake comes just two months after a magnitude-6.0 quake struck in Afghanistan’s east, killing more than 2,200 people.

Why is Afghanistan so prone to earthquakes?

Earthquakes are common in Afghanistan, particularly along the Hindu Kush mountain range, near where the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates meet.

They kill about 560 people in Afghanistan on average each year, according to Reuters news agency, and cause annual damages estimated at $80 million (€69 million).

Studies indicate at least 355 earthquakes with a magnitude higher than 5.0 have hit Afghanistan since 1990.

In addition, many modest Afghan homes are built of mud bricks. This makes them susceptible to earthquake damage. 

Poor infrastructure connecting remote regions also hampers rescue efforts after natural disasters like earthquakes.

Afghanistan is already facing multiple crises including a severe drought and the return of millions of Afghans from neighbouring countries, the UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, said in an September report. (DW)

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The Philippines and some regions of Indonesia have issued a tsunami warning, urging coastal communities to evacuate after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck offshore in the southern Philippines

The strong quake struck at a depth of 23 kilometres (14 miles) at 9:43am local time (01:43 GMT) on Friday, according to the US National Tsunami Warning Centre.

The centre warned the earthquake could trigger waves of up to 1-3 metres above tide level along the coast of the Philippines, and waves of 0.3 to 1 metres above tide level in parts of Indonesia and Palau.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology “strongly advised” people living in coastal communities in the southern and central Philippines to evacuate to higher ground, as waves of more than 1 metre were expected to hit the area.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr – popularly known as Bongbong Marcos – said that the Philippine government was “assessing the situation on the ground and ensuring that everyone is safe”.

“I have directed the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the Office of Civil Defense, the Armed Forces, the Philippine Coast Guard, and all concerned agencies to immediately carry out evacuations in coastal areas, activate emergency communication lines, and coordinate closely with local governments,” Marcos said, according to the Inquirer, a leading media organisation in the Philippines.

Indonesia’s northern Sulawesi and Papua regions also issued tsunami warnings that waves as high as 50cm (1.6ft) could hit coastal areas, according to Reuters.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in the Philippines following the earthquake, but videos shared on social media show damage to infrastructure.

The United States National Tsunami Warning Center said that tsunami waves can persist for many hours after the first wave hits, and the impact will vary depending on the shape and elevation of the local shoreline. (Al Jazeera)

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A powerful 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck the central Philippines late Tuesday, killing more than 20 people and raising fears of considerable destruction.

The shallow earthquake struck around 10 p.m. local time, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), just west of Palompon and close to the city of Bogo in Cebu province.

A quake of this strength in the region could cause casualties and damage to poorly built structures, early survey models suggest.

Cebu Governor Pam Baricuatro said in a post on Facebook that “a total of 27 individuals were reported dead and 143 others sustained various injuries” after the quake.

Richard Gordon, chairman of the Philippine Red Cross, said in a telephone interview that at least 13 people, including three members of the Philippine Coast Guard and one firefighter, died in the town of San Remigio when a sports complex collapsed during a basketball game.

Red Cross paramedics treated at least 60 people for injuries in three provinces, he said.

“Some churches partially collapsed, and some schools had to be evacuated,” Gordon said. “This was a sleeper,” he said of the late-night quake. “It crept up on us.”

Footage shared on social media from Cebu province showed a fire breaking out at a mall due to the earthquake, as well as a badly damaged McDonald’s. Beauty pageant contestants were seen in another video running off the stage as the earthquake started.

The Philippine Red Cross said there were reports at schools in Cebu of debris, cracks in buildings and a temporary power failure.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), which recorded multiple aftershocks close to the epicenter in the hours after the initial earthquake, canceled a tsunami alert for Leyte, Biliran and Cebu provinces early Wednesday local time.

A minor eruption from the country’s Taal volcano, about 70 km (45 miles) south of central Manila, was also recorded by Phivolcs. It stated that the eruption produced a 2,500-meter-high plume that drifted northwest, but the alert level remains at Level 1.

Governor Baricuatro urged residents to remain calm in a social media video, saying the presidential office confirmed to her it will send immediate aid to Cebu. “Know that the provincial government is doing its best. Help is coming,” she said.

The Medellin municipality in Cebu added in its Facebook post that classes have been suspended until further notice, and work has been suspended until facilities and buildings are assessed.

More than half a million people felt very strong shaking across the Visayan Islands, which include Cebu, Biliran and Leyte, according to estimates from the USGS.

Very strong shaking will bring “considerable damage in poorly built or badly designed structures” as well as “slight to moderate damage in well-built ordinary structures,” according to the USGS.

The Philippines sits along the Ring of Fire, a 25,000-mile (40,000-kilometer) arc of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean that hosts more than half of the world’s volcanoes.

In 2022, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in northern Luzon, the country’s most populous island, killed at least five and injured over 100 people. In 2019, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake, also in Luzon, killed at least 11. (CNN)

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A tsunami warning has not been issued to Sri Lanka following the magnitude 3.9 tremor reported off the coast of Trincomalee today, the Disaster Management Centre said.

According to the DMC, a magnitude 3.9 tremor was reported in the sea area 60 km off North East of Trincomalee at 4.06 pm.

The DMC further said that, however, no tsunami warning has been issued for the coastline. (Newswire)

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At least 250 people have been killed and over 500 have been injured in Afghanistan after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake hit the country, Taliban officials said Monday.

The earthquake struck 17 miles from the city of Jalalabad near the border with Pakistan around midnight local time (3:30 p.m. ET Sunday), according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Because the earthquake hit a remote mountainous area, “it will take time to get the exact information about human losses and damage to the infrastructure,” said Sharafat Zaman, a spokesperson for the Afghan Public Health Ministry.

“We have launched a massive rescue operation and mobilized hundreds of people to help people in the affected areas,” Zaman said.

Since the initial quake, at least five aftershocks ranging from 4.5-magnitude to 5.2-magnitude have hit the area throughout Monday, according to the USGS.

Aftershocks can last for days and can sometimes be worse than the first quake.

Afghanistan is especially vulnerable to earthquakes as it sits on top of several fault lines where the Indian and Eurasian plates meet. The mountainous terrain of eastern Afghanistan is also prone to landslides, making it harder for emergency services to carry out rescues.

This quake was especially devastating as it hit at a shallow depth of 5 miles, making it far more destructive even at moderate magnitude.

In 2022, around 1,000 people were killed and thousands more were injured when a 5.9-magnitude earthquake hit eastern Afghanistan.

That, too, was a shallow quake.

The next year, three 6.3-magnitude quakes hit the western Afghanistan province of Herat in one week, killing around 1,500 people, according to the U.N.

Monday’s quake comes at a challenging time for Afghanistan, one of the world’s poorest countries, which is suffering from four consecutive years of drought and the influx of over 2.3 million Afghans who have returned from Iran and Pakistan this year.

“Below-average first and second season crop production and reduced livestock income limit their ability to stock food for the winter,” the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, which was established by the United States Agency for International Development, said in a report last week. (NBC)

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The Geological Survey and Mines Bureau says there is no impact to Sri Lanka due to the 6.6 magnitude earthquake that struck near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands early this morning (29).

Addressing the media today, Director General of the Bureau, Dr. Dipani Weerakoon, said that the earthquake had struck nearly 260 km away from Sri Lanka around 5.18 am today. 

She said that several aftershocks had also been reported following the 6.6 magnitude earthquake, while a magnitude 7 earthquake was reported close to Australia. 

Dr. Dipani Weerakoon assured that there was no threat to Sri Lanka due to the earthquakes and aftershocks.

Meanwhile, India’s National Centre for Seismology said the 6.6 magnitude earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 km in the Bay of Bengal, and was followed by several aftershocks. 

India’s National Centre for Seismology further said, however, no damage to life or property has been reported. (Newswire)

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