HispanicBusiness

A 7.7-magnitude earthquake on Friday struck off the Philippines' eastern coast, killing at least one and forcing thousands to flee their homes after a tsunami warning was issued.

Roads and buildings cracked, while power lines were disrupted in dozens of cities and towns in the eastern and southern Philippines, where the quake was felt, according to local officials.

In Cagayan de Oro City, where the tremor was felt at intensity 4, an elderly woman died and her 5-year-old grandson was injured when the quake triggered a landslide, burying their home, said Benito Ramos, head of the Office of Civil Defence.

Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Vicente Emano said a flash flood also occurred as the quake struck.

"Seven houses were washed out by the flash flood and one house was buried in a landslide," he said.

The quake's epicentre was located 112 kilometres east of Guiuan town in Eastern Samar province, at a depth of 10 kilometres, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, which measured the magnitude at 7.7.

The US Geological Survey initially measured the magnitude of the quake, which struck at 1247 GMT, at 7.9 but later lowered it to 7.6.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially issued a tsunami warning for Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, and the Philippines, but later lifted the alerts.

Philippine authorities did not immediately lift its local warning and urged thousands of evacuated residents to stay overnight in higher grounds.

"They should not return to their homes tonight," Ramos said. "It's not advisable because it's dark and we don't know if aftershocks would trigger bigger waves. We have not lifted the local warning."

Police officers and soldiers helped local authorities and rescue teams in evacuating residents living near the shore.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said it has so far monitored waves reaching 16 centimetres off the southern city of Surigao, but warned the water could swell to as high as 2 metres.

The Philippines, located along the Pacific Ring of Fire, suffered its worst earthquake in 1990 when a magnitude-7.7 tremor killed nearly 2,000 people on the northern island of Luzon.