A magnitude 7.6 earthquake jolted Davao City at 9:43 a.m. Friday, October 10, sending people out of buildings and onto the streets.
Employees from various offices here gathered outside their respective buildings.
In Manticao, Misamis Oriental, children attending a daycare center rushed outdoors with their guardians.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology issued a tsunami alert following the quake, whose epicenter was traced offshore northeast of Davao Oriental, with a focal depth of 10 kilometers.
Phivolcs strongly advised people living along the coasts of Eastern Samar, Dinagat Islands, Davao Oriental, Southern Leyte, Leyte, Surigao del Norte, and Surigao del Sur to move inland and seek higher ground.
The agency warned that waves one meter or more above normal tides, and potentially greater in enclosed bays and straits, may follow the quake.
Phivolcs predicted the first tsunami waves to arrive between 9:43:54 a.m. and 11:43:54 a.m., and the waves could continue for hours.
Phivolcs advised communities along the coastlines of these provinces to immediately evacuate to higher ground.