Powerful earthquake off southern Philippines kills 2 people, causes
damages and tsunami evacuations
[October 10, 2025]
By JIM GOMEZ
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A 7.4-magnitude earthquake Friday morning off
the southern Philippines killed at least two people, damaged a hospital
and schools, knocked out power and prompted evacuations of coastal areas
nearby due to a tsunami warning, which was later lifted.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., facing his latest natural disaster after
a previous earthquake and back-to-back storms, said the potential damage
was being assessed and rescue teams and relief operations were being
prepared and would be deployed when it was safe to do so.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said it was
expecting damage and aftershocks from the earthquake, which was centered
at sea about 43 kilometers (27 miles) east of Manay town in Davao
Oriental province and was caused by movement in the Philippine Trench at
a depth of 23 kilometers (14 miles).
At least two people died after being pinned in damaged houses in Davao
Oriental, provincial Governor Nelson Dayanghirang Sr. told ABS-CBN News
Channel, adding that about 250 patients were evacuated from a damaged
hospital and would be temporarily housed in tents.
Office of Civil Defense deputy administrator Bernardo Rafaelito
Alejandro IV said several buildings sustained cracks in their walls,
including an international airport in Davao city, but it remained
operational without any flights being canceled, Alejandro said.
“I was driving my car when it suddenly swayed and I saw powerlines
swaying wildly. People darted out of houses and buildings as the ground
shook and electricity came off,” Jun Saavedra, a disaster-mitigation
officer of Gov. Generoso town in Davao Oriental, told The Associated
Press by cellphone.
“We've had earthquakes in the past, but this was the strongest,”
Saavedra said, adding that the intense ground swaying caused cracks in
several buildings, including a high school, where about 50 students were
brought to a hospital by ambulance after sustaining bruises, fainting or
becoming dizzy due to the earthquake.
Gov. Generoso is a town about 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of Manay,
where classes in all levels were also suspended.
Children evacuated schools in Davao city, which has about 5.4 million
people and is the biggest city near the epicenter, about 250 kilometers
(155 miles) west of Davao Oriental province.
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Two women walk past a damaged house after a strong earthquake in
Davao City, southern Philippines on Friday Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Manman
Dejeto)
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu said small waves were
detected on the coasts of the Philippines and Indonesia before the
threat passed about two hours after the quake. It said small sea
fluctuations may continue.
A tsunami warning that set off evacuations in six coastal provinces
near Davao Oriental was later lifted without any major waves being
detected, chief government seismologist Teresito Bacolcol said.
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency said
small tsunami waves were detected in North Sulawesi province with
heights ranging from 3.5 to 17 centimeters (1.3 to 6.7 inches) in
Melonguane, Beo, Essang and Ganalo in Talaud Islands districts.
The Philippines is still recovering from a Sept. 30 earthquake with
a magnitude of 6.9 that left at least 74 people dead and displaced
thousands of people in the central province of Cebu, particularly in
Bogo city and outlying towns.
The archipelago also is lashed by about 20 typhoons and storms each
year, making disaster response a major task of the government and
volunteer groups.
Also Friday, an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.0
struck Friday off the coast of Papua New Guinea. The U.S. Geological
Survey said it was centered in the Bismarck Sea 414 kilometers (257
miles) northeast of Lae, the South Pacific island nation’s
second-most populous city.
Lae police official Mary Jane Huafilong said no damage was reported.
___
Associated Press journalists Edna Tarigan in Jakarta, Indonesia, and
Rod McGuirk in Melbourne, Australia, contributed to this report.
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