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MANILA, Philippines (UPDATE) -- The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Saturday advised the public, especially those living on the country’s eastern coastline, to stay alert after a powerful earthquake hit Chile.
“Bilang pag-iingat, nagpalabas ang Phivolcs-DOST ng Tsunami Alert Level No. 1 kaninang 3:10 p.m. na ang ibig sabihin kailangang maghanda ang ating mga kababayan,” said Phivolcs director Renato Solidum.
("As a precaution, Phivolcs-DOST issued a Tsunami Alert Level No. 1 this 3:10 p.m. to advise the public to be ready.")
Solidum said that among the eastern coastline areas exposed to possible tsunamis are Cagayan, Bataan, Isabela, Aurora, Albay, Sorsogon, some parts of Samar, some parts of Leyte, Surigao provinces and Davao Oriental.
The Phivolcs director said the issuance of an alert is just part of their standard operating procedure every time there is a tsunami.
Solidum added that there is no evacuation order in effect.
“Ito po ay standard operating procedure natin na kung magkaroon ng malaking earthquake na may abilidad na magdulot ng tsunami dito sa atin, ay nagtataas tayo ng Alert Level 1 para abiso sa ating mga kababayan. Nage-evacuate po tayo pag itinaas natin sa Alert Level No. 3 na tsunami alert,” he said.
("This is a standard operating procedure that when there’s a big earthquake that could bring tsunami to us, we issue Alert Level 1 to advise the public. We only order evacuation when we raise Alert Level No. 3).
Phivolcs issued the alert following the 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck in the Pacific Ocean near the coast of Chile early Saturday.
In 1960, Chile was hit by the world's biggest earthquake since records dating back to 1900, USGS data shows. The 9.5 magnitude quake devastated the south-central city of Valdivia, killing 1,655 people and sending a tsunami which battered Easter Island 2,300 miles off Chile's Pacific seaboard and continued as far as Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines.
Solidum also said that the earthquake in Chile is not in anyway connected to the recent tremors that hit General Santos City, Butuan City and even Japan.
“Iba-iba ang dahilan ng pagkilos ng mga faults at mga bloke ng mga bato sa ating bansa (there are different reasons for the sudden movements of faults in our country,” he said.
The Phivolcs said that a magnitude 5.3 struck 76 kilometers southeast of General Santos City in South Cotabato province at 12:18 a.m. Saturday.
A shallow magnitude 3.3 also struck 30 kilometers northeast off Butuan City in Agusan del Norte province at 3:35 a.m.
A strong earthquake also hit Japan's southern island of Okinawa. The US Geological Survey said the 7.3 magnitude quake struck at 5:31 a.m. Saturday 52 miles east of the island's capital of Naha, a city of about 320,000 about 1,600 km (1,000 miles) south of Tokyo. -- With reports from Reuters and Agence France-Presse


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