No tsunami threat, PHIVOLCS assures public after magnitude 7 quake

There is no threat of a tsunami to the Philippines following the magnitude 7 earthquake that hit Abra on Wednesday morning, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) said.

"Wala po tsunami 'yan, wala pong tsunami," PHIVOLCS chief Renato Solidum Jr. told Super Radyo dzBB. 

However, PHIVOLCS in an advisory noted that earthquakes of this size "may generate unusual sea level disturbances that may be observed along coasts near earthquake epicenter of Abra province."

Solidum explained that this was because the fault that caused the earthquake can be found inland. He earlier told Super Radyo dzBB that this was most likely the Abra River Fault.

"Nasa lupa ang fault, inland. So hindi niya po mapapaangat ang sea floor sa ocean para magdulot ng life-threatening tsunami," Solidum said in a press conference.

(The fault is inland, so it cannot lift up the sea floor to produce a life-threatening tsunami.) 

"Ngayon, posible din naman po na dahil kumilos ang lupa, 'yung dalampasigan sa gilid, 'yung tubig niya minsan, lalo na kung may mga enclosure... ay puwede niyang magalaw na parang palanggana na magkakaroon ng oscillation, pero hindi po 'yan katulad ng mga dambuhalang tsunami," he added.

(Now it's possible that because the land moved, the seashore and its water may possibly move but it will not be similar to large tsunamis.)

The magnitude 7 earthquake occurred at 8:43 a.m. and was located at 17.64°N, 120.63°E - 003 km N 45° W of Tayum in Abra. It had a depth of 17 kilometers, PHIVOLCS said.

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. will fly to Abra immediately "as soon as the all clear is given," Press Trixie Cruz-Angeles said at a press briefing.

One person was reportedly killed following the earthquake, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said. —KG, GMA News