Manila: An earthquake of magnitude 7.6 struck offshore in the southern Philippines on Friday, the country's seismology agency said, with tsunami warnings issued in several countries and people in nearby coastal areas urged to evacuate to higher ground.

The Phivolcs agency warned of damage and aftershocks from the strong offshore quake, which struck in waters off Manay town in Davao Oriental in the Mindanao region. It said the quake happened at a depth of 10 km (6 miles).

The agency called on people in coastal towns in the central and southern Philippines to immediately evacuate to higher ground or move further inland, saying wave heights of up to more than one metre above normal tides could be expected.

A tsunami warning was also issued in Indonesia for its northern Sulawesi and Papua r

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