A powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck off the southern coast of the Philippines on Friday, prompting tsunami warnings across several countries and sending residents in coastal areas scrambling for higher ground, officials said.
The tremor hit waters near the town of Manay in Davao Oriental, Mindanao, on Friday morning, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, or Phivolcs, which warned of possible aftershocks.
At least one person was killed, civil defense official Raffy Alejandro said in a Facebook post.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center later said the tsunami threat to the Philippines had passed, though it had earlier warned of potential waves up to 3 meters (about 10 feet) high.
Some regional alerts, however, remained in effect as authorities continued to monitor the situation.
