Mindanao Hit By Tremor

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 14 Jan) – A 4.9 magnitude earthquake struck the southern Philippine port city of General Santos on Sunday, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage to structure.

The United States Geological Survey said the tremor was traced 212 miles (341 km) Southeast of General Santos City in Mindanao island. It was also felt in other parts around here, including the cities of Davao and Cotabato.

“An earthquake with magnitude 4.9 occurred near General Santos, Mindanao, Philippines at 00:47:37.30 UTC,” it said.

The areas have been struck by sporadic tremors since November last year and many locals feared that a tsunami would hit soon.

On Saturday, small tsunami waves hit northern and eastern Japan after a powerful temblor in the Pacific.

The United States Geological Survey said the quake magnitude was recorded at 8.2 in the Richter scale and was located in the northern Pacific, 525 km (325 miles) east northeast of Kurilsk, Kurile Islands, and 1,710 km (1,065 miles) northeast of Tokyo.

Tsunami warnings were also prompted in the Philippines, Russia and as far as Alaska, including Guam and Taiwan.

A 40-cm (16-inch) wave was reported at Chichijima in the Ogasawara islands, some 1,200 km (750 miles) south of Tokyo, and several smaller waves on Hokkaido and northern Japan, but there were no reports of injuries and no immediate reports of damage.

Japan's Meteorological Agency had said a tsunami as tall as a meter could hit parts of Hokkaido and smaller waves were likely to hit a wide area of coast, from Hokkaido to Wakayama prefecture on Japan's largest main island of Honshu.

Seismologists said the Philippines lies in the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," where tremors, some caused by volcanic activity, are common.

In March last year, fears of undersea volcanic eruptions and threats of deadly tsunamis have triggered an exodus of people in many coastal towns in the southern Philippine province of Surigao del Norte.

The scare was triggered by cell phone text messages about an impending volcanic eruptions and tsunamis and forced many people to flee their homes.

Tsunami is series of catastrophic ocean waves generated by submarine movements, which may be caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, or undersea landslides.

Tsunamis usually occur in the Pacific Ocean following earthquakes over magnitude 6.5 on the Richter scale. On August 16, 1976, a tsunami generated by a quake in Mindanao killed more than 10,000 people in the Moro Gulf region -- coastal communities in the Sulu archipelago, Zamboanga Peninsula, Lanao provinces, North Cotabato, Maguindanao, and Sultan Kudarat provinces.

One of the most destructive tsunamis to occur during historical times followed the explosive eruption of the volcano Krakatoa in the East Indies on Aug. 27, 1883, when over 36,000 people were killed as a result of the waves up to 100 ft. (Mindanao Examiner)