A strong magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck the northern Philippines a short time ago; however, the U.S. National Weather Service Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (TWC) in Honolulu, Hawaii issued a bulletin saying a Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected.
At 2:43 pm Hawaii time / 8:43 pm ET, the 7.1 earthquake struck Luzon near Dolores at a depth of about 10 km. Shaking was felt across the region; more than 170 people used the U.S.-based USGS “Did you feel it?” website to report shaking.
According to USGS, a significant area was exposed to a landslide threat with “limited population exposed” and a significant area was also exposed to a liquefaction threat where an “extensive population was exposed.”
Shortly after the earthquake, TWC issued a statement: “Based on all available data, a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected and there is no tsunami threat to Hawaii.” TWC also issued additional statements saying there is no tsunami threat to Guam, Rota, Tinian, or Saipan nor is there any threat to Alaska and the U.S. and Canadian west coast of North America.
There are images on social media of apparent damage with knocked-over walls, crushed cars, and buildings missing walls and windows. However, Weatherboy was not able to confirm the authenticity of those photographs as of publication time.
