MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Saturday afternoon, December 29, lifted the tsunami warnings it issued following a powerful magnitude 7.2 earthquake that rocked Mindanao. 

In a bulletin issued 3 pm Saturday, Phivolcs said it has cancelled its earlier tsunami advisory.

“Minor waves associated with this event were recorded by our sea level monitoring station in Mati, Davao Oriental with a maximum height of 0.08 meter. The last recorded wave occured at 1:10 pm for this station. Records show that wave heights have returned to the normal tide level,” Phivolcs said.

It added that minor sea level disturbances in Davao Oriental have “largely passed.”

Saturday’s earthquake jolted Davao Oriental located at the eastern portion of the island, and as far as Zamboanga City on the western side.

As of 3:30 pm, 13 less powerful quakes were recorded after the 11:39 pm earthquake – 12 of those with epicenters east of Governor Generoso. Recorded magnitudes were all lower than the first one, with 3.9 as the highest.

Malacañang urged Mindanao local officials to monitor their areas and take precautionary measures in the event of more aftershocks or a possible tsunami.

Port officials and the Coast Guard have suspended coastal operations and activities following the powerful quake. – Rappler.com