Tsunami alert lifted after earthquake hits off Philippines (Updated)

A tsunami alert was lifted after undersea quake off the Philippine island of Mindanao on Saturday. The earthquake triggered a tsunami warning as small waves were expected to hit southern parts of the country and neighbouring Indonesia.

The quake struck southeast of Davao City at a depth of 59 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said, a week after a volcano-triggered tsunami killed more than 400 people in Indonesia.

Al Jazeera reports that the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said “hazardous tsunami waves from this earthquake are possible” along the coasts of Indonesia and the Philippines.

However, waves were forecast to be less than 30cm high, it said, while Philippine monitors warned that “minor sea level disturbances” were expected.

“People are advised to stay away from the beach and not to go to the coast fronting the Philippine Sea,” for about two hours, the Philippines’ government seismology office said in its tsunami warning.

This is a developing story