JAKARTA: Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) on Monday urged people to evacuate to higher ground along the country’s northern coast, which is under threat of a tsunami, after a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the southern Philippines.
BNPB said in a statement that small tsunami waves had been detected at several coastal monitoring stations in northern Indonesia. Due to the aftershocks following the strong quake, the agency urged officials in affected provinces such as North Sulawesi and Gorontalo to advise people to take immediate precautions, stay away from the coast and evacuate to higher ground in order.
A strong earthquake in the Philippines has caused panic among residents in several coastal areas of northeastern Indonesia, local media reported on Monday. The tremors were felt across cities but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
A magnitude 7.8 offshore earthquake struck the southern Philippines early Monday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said. In response, Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency issued a tsunami warning for the country’s northeastern coast.
Edited by Chuk Bora
