Philippine Provinces under Tsunami Alert

Several provinces in the Philippines are now under Tsunami Alert Level 1, following a strong earthquake in Northern Japan.




In a bulletin issued by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) these provinces are under watch and must prepare for a possible evacuation:



• Batanes Group of Islands



• Cagayan



• Ilocos Norte



• Isabela



• Quezon



• Aurora



• Camarines Norte



• Camarines Sur



• Albay



• Catanduanes



• Sorsogon



• Northern Samar



• Eastern Samar



• Leyte



• Southern Leyte



• Surigao del Norte



• Surigao del Sur



• Davao Oriental



• Davao del Sur



Japan on Friday afternoon registered an 8.8 magnitude earthquake, which NDRRMC said “has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines in the region near the epicenter within minutes to hours.”



“The pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii will monitor sea level gauges nearest the region and report if any tsunami wave activity is observed,” NDRRMC said.

(UPDATE) The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has raised the Tsunami alert to Level 2 , hours after an 8.8-magnitude quake hit Northern Japan.