Manila (AFP) – The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center raised its alert for possible tsunami waves in the Philippines, Palau, and Indonesia on Friday hours after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck southern Philippines.

The center later announced in its bulletin that the tsunami threat from this earthquake had passed.

The earthquake occurred at 09:43 (01:43 GMT) about 20 kilometers from the town of Manay on the large island of Mindanao in southern Philippines, according to the US Geological Survey.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology warned of “destructive tsunami waves” up to one meter high expected to hit the country’s Pacific coast, urging residents of these coastal areas to “evacuate immediately to higher ground or move inland.”

Police officer Diana Lacorda told AFP that authorities in the province where Manay is located expect the earthquake caused damage.

She said, “Our glasses were shaking and fell to the ground,” noting power and communication outages while authorities have yet to assess damage in some areas.

Teacher Christine Sertie from Compostela city near Manay told AFP she was in a meeting when the strong earthquake struck.

She explained, “It started slowly at first then intensified (…) We could not leave the building immediately because the tremors were strong.”

She added, “The roof of some offices collapsed but no one was injured,” noting that some of the approximately one thousand students at the school “suffered panic attacks and had difficulty breathing.”

Journalist Kath Cortez, based in Davao city about 100 kilometers from Manay, told AFP she saw cracks on her house walls.

She added, “I was surprised by the strength of the earthquake. I had just woken up,” adding that her family rushed outside.

This earthquake comes 11 days after a violent quake that killed 74 and left about 72,000 affected on Cebu island in the central archipelago.