Earthquake of 7.5 Strikes Philippines, Tsunami Expected in Philippines and Japan

This photo taken on November 19, 2023 shows a resident inspecting his destroyed house in the town of Glan, Sarangani province, after a 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck the province. (AFP)
This photo taken on November 19, 2023 shows a resident inspecting his destroyed house in the town of Glan, Sarangani province, after a 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck the province. (AFP)
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Earthquake of 7.5 Strikes Philippines, Tsunami Expected in Philippines and Japan

This photo taken on November 19, 2023 shows a resident inspecting his destroyed house in the town of Glan, Sarangani province, after a 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck the province. (AFP)
This photo taken on November 19, 2023 shows a resident inspecting his destroyed house in the town of Glan, Sarangani province, after a 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck the province. (AFP)

An earthquake of at least magnitude 7.5 struck Mindanao in the southern Philippines late on Saturday, triggering evacuation orders for some areas and southwestern Japanese coasts because of warnings of tsunami waves of a meter (3 feet) or more.

The Philippine Seismology Agency Phivolcs said the waves could hit the Philippines by midnight (1600 GMT) and continue for hours.

The US Tsunami Warning System said there could be waves of up to 3 meters above the tide level along some Philippine coasts.

"Boats already at sea during this period should stay offshore in deep waters until further advised," Phivolcs said, asking people living near the coast of Surigao Del Sur and Davao Oriental provinces to "immediately evacuate" or "move farther inland".

The Japanese broadcaster NHK said tsunami waves of up to a meter were expected to reach Japan's southwestern coast around 30 minutes later - by 1:30 a.m. on Sunday (1630 GMT on Saturday).

Phivolcs said it did expect significant damage from the tremor itself, but warned of aftershocks.

Raymark Gentallan, local police chief of the coastal town of Hinatuan near the earthquake's epicenter, said power has been knocked out since the quake struck, but disaster response teams have not monitored any casualties or damage yet.

Earthquakes are common in the Philippines, which lies on the "Ring of Fire", a belt of volcanoes circling the Pacific Ocean that is prone to seismic activity.

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said a quake of magnitude 7.5 had struck at a depth of 63 km (39 miles).

The US Geographic Survey put the quake at magnitude 7.6 and a depth of 32 km (20 miles), and said it had struck at 10:37 p.m., Philippines time (1437 GMT).



Trump Says he Will Buy a 'New Tesla' to Show Support for Musk

(FILES) Leader of the Department of Government Efficiency Elon Musk wears a shirt that says "Tech Support" as he speaks during a cabinet meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 26, 2025. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP)
(FILES) Leader of the Department of Government Efficiency Elon Musk wears a shirt that says "Tech Support" as he speaks during a cabinet meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 26, 2025. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP)
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Trump Says he Will Buy a 'New Tesla' to Show Support for Musk

(FILES) Leader of the Department of Government Efficiency Elon Musk wears a shirt that says "Tech Support" as he speaks during a cabinet meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 26, 2025. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP)
(FILES) Leader of the Department of Government Efficiency Elon Musk wears a shirt that says "Tech Support" as he speaks during a cabinet meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 26, 2025. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP)

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he will buy a new Tesla car to show support for the electric carmaker's chief and his ally Elon Musk amid recent "Tesla Takedown" protests and the slump in the company's stock price.
Musk's role in sweeping cuts to the federal workforce at the behest of Trump has led to protests in the US against Tesla.
About 350 demonstrators protested outside a Tesla electric vehicle dealership in Portland, Oregon, last week, while nine people were arrested during a raucous demonstration outside a New York City Tesla dealership earlier in March.
Musk is spearheading the Trump administration's so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump defended Musk by saying he was "putting it on the line” to help the country and was doing a "fantastic" job, Reuters reported.
"I'm going to buy a brand new Tesla tomorrow morning as a show of confidence and support for Elon Musk, a truly great American," Trump said.
Musk thanked the president for his support on his own social media platform X.
Tesla's market capitalization has more than halved since hitting an all-time high of $1.5 trillion on December 17, erasing most of the gains the stock made after Musk helped finance the election victory of Trump.
The stock's decline since December stems from falling vehicle sales and profits, protests of Musk's political activity and investor worries that politics are distracting the world’s richest man from tending to his cash cow.