Massive 7.6 quake rocks Philippines, triggers Tsunami alert and panic across Mindanao

A powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck the southern Philippines late October 10, shaking buildings, sparking panic, and triggering tsunami warnings across vast stretches of the archipelago.

According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), the undersea quake hit waters off Manay town in Davao Oriental, Mindanao, at a shallow depth of just 10 kilometers — a factor that amplified its intensity on land. Authorities swiftly issued evacuation advisories for coastal communities, warning of possible tsunami waves up to three meters high.

“There may be damage and aftershocks,” Phivolcs said in its statement, urging residents to move to higher ground or farther inland until the threat subsides.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii confirmed that “dangerous waves” could occur within 300 kilometers of the quake’s epicenter, affecting parts of Indonesia and Palau as well. Indonesia’s weather agency issued its own tsunami alerts for northern Sulawesi and Papua, warning of waves up to 50 centimeters.

Local officials described scenes of chaos as the quake struck. “Some buildings were reported damaged. It was very strong,” said Edwin Jubahib, governor of Davao Oriental, adding that people fled into the streets in fear.

On social media, videos showed patients and hospital staff at Tagum City Davao Hospital scrambling for safety as walls shook and alarms blared. In another clip, water in fish tanks sloshed violently inside a coastal aquaculture facility.

As of late October 10 night, there were no confirmed reports of casualties, but authorities cautioned that assessments were still underway.

The temblor comes barely two weeks after a deadly 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck the central Philippines, killing 72 people in Cebu — the deadliest quake to hit the country in more than a decade.

With memories of that disaster still fresh, the latest quake has reignited fears in one of the world’s most seismically active regions, where the “Ring of Fire” routinely unleashes the planet’s most violent tectonic events.