Phivolcs lifts tsunami alert

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) lifted its tsunami alert on Wednesday following the 7.4-magnitude earthquake that hit Taiwan, a geographical neighbor.

The advisory said that based on data from the bureau’s sea level monitoring stations facing the epicentral area, “no significant sea level disturbances have been recorded since 7:58 a.m. up until this cancellation.”

“With this, any effects due to the tsunami warning have largely passed, and therefore, DoST-Phivolcs has now canceled all tsunami warnings issued for this event. This will be the final tsunami information issued for this event,” the advisory, which was issued at 10:33 a.m., read.

The bureau raised a tsunami alert at 8:17 a.m. after the major quake in Tawain, reportedly the strongest to jolt the island in 25 years.

Phivolcs’ evaluation showed that based on tsunami wave models and early tide gauge records of the tsunami in the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, “coastal areas in the Philippines fronting the Pacific Ocean are expected to experience high tsunami waves.”

The first tsunami waves were forecast to arrive between 8:33 a.m. and 10:33 a.m. “It may not be the largest, and these waves may continue for hours,” Phivolcs noted.

People in the coastal areas of four northern provinces, namely, Batanes, Cagayan, Ilocos Norte and Isabela, were earlier advised to move to higher ground or move farther inland immediately.