Massive earthquake strikes southern Philippines island of Mindanao; Tsunami alert issued

Manila: An earthquake measuring 7.2-magnitude on the Richter scale struck southern Philippines island of Mindanao on Saturday.

The quake was recorded at 03:39 GMT, 101 kilometres or 62.7 miles to the southeast of the Pundaguitan coastal area, according to United States Geological Survey.

No reports of casualties have emerged yet.

However, authorities warned of possible tsunami threat to the coastlines of the Philippines and Indonesia.

"Hazardous tsunami waves from this earthquake are possible within 300 km (186 miles) of the epicentre along the coasts of Indonesia and the Philippines," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.
There was no tsunami threat to the U.S. state of Hawaii, it added.