A major earthquake of 7.9 magnitude has struck off the Philippines on Friday and a tsunami warning has been issued for the Philippines Indonesia, Taiwan and Japan, U.S. Geological Survey and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.
The U.S. seismologists said that any wave generated by the quake would be expected to hit Indonesia first.
The experts said the quake had a depth of 34 kilometers (21 miles) and hit at 8:47 pm (1247 GMT) some 139 kilometers east of the city of Sulangan, eastern Samar.
The tsunami warning was issued for the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and other islands in the Pacific including the U.S. state of Hawaii.
“An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines in the region near the epicentre within minutes to hours,” the center said.
http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/08/31/235324.html
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