Tsunami warning issued after 7.9 magnitude earthquake hits Philippines

A 7.9-magnitude undersea quake struck off the eastern coast of the Philippines late Friday, triggering tsunami warnings across a wide swath of Asia.

A major 7.9 earthquake hit the sea area east of the Philippines today and a tsunami warning was issued for the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan and Japan, US seismologists said.

Tsunami alerts were also issued for Papua New Guinea and other islands in the Pacific, including the US state of Hawaii.

The US Geological Survey said the quake had a depth of 33 kilometres and hit at 8:47 pm (1817 IST) some 139 kilometres east of the city of Sulangan.

While there were no immediate reports of damage or injury,u00a0residents living along the coastline of eastern Samar Island were advised to evacuate to high ground in case of the tsunami.

More details are awaited.

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