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Philippines Earthquake: An offshore earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 hit off a southern Philippine province Friday morning, and a hazardous tsunami was possible nearby. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said it was expecting damage and aftershocks from the earthquake, which was centred at sea about 62 kilometres southeast of Manay town in Davao Oriental province and was caused by movement in a fault at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres.

Tsunami warning issued after Philippines earthquake

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Honolulu said hazardous waves were possible within 300 kilometres of the epicentre. There was not a wider danger of a tsunami, it said.

A tsunami warning has been issued for portions of southern Philippines after preliminary magnitude 7.6 earthquake

Second major earthquake in 10 days

The Philippines is still recovering from a September 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 Bogo city and outlying towns.

VIDEO: Moment Massive Earthquake Hits Philippines, Unleashing Panic And Tsunami Alerts

One of the world's most disaster-prone countries, the Philippines is often hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions because of its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the ocean.

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.

Rescue team being prepared

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said authorities were assessing the situation on the ground, and said search-and-rescue teams would be deployed when it was safe to do so. "We are working round the clock to ensure that help reaches everyone who needs it," Marcos said in a statement. Local authorities in the affected region could not immediately be reached.

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Phivolcs called on people in coastal towns in the central and southern Philippines to immediately evacuate to higher ground or move further inland, saying wave heights of more than one metre above normal tides could be expected. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said waves of 1 to 3 metres above tide level were possible in the Philippines.

Philippines' earthquake nightmare

The earthquake came two weeks after the Philippines experienced its deadliest quake in more than a decade, with 72 people killed on the island of Cebu. That was a magnitude of 6.9 and also struck offshore. The Philippines sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" and experiences more than 800 quakes each year.