THE Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) recorded a tsunami wave height of about 30 centimeters following the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that jolted Davao Oriental Friday morning, October 10, 2025.
In a press conference, Phivolcs Director Teresito Bacolcol said the tsunami wave was recorded at the Tandag, Surigao del Sur sea level monitoring station around 8:20 a.m.
As of 1:43 p.m., Phivolcs canceled the tsunami warning it earlier issued for coastal communities in the provinces of Davao Oriental, Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Leyte, Southern Leyte, and Eastern Samar, which prompted immediate evacuations in these areas.
Bacolcol said residents in the coastal areas of the affected provinces may now return home but should remain alert for residual sea level oscillations.
The magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck off the coast of Manay, Davao Oriental, originated along the Philippine Trench, which has previously been identified as a potential source of major seismic activity.
As of 1:50 p.m., Bacolcol said 213 aftershocks had been recorded following the main quake, with the strongest registering magnitude 5.8.
He clarified that the September 30 and October 9 earthquakes in Bogo City and La Union, respectively, are not in any way connected to the Davao Oriental tremor.
“Wala po tayong nakikitang pattern. Again, these are all normal activities. The Philippines is very much active tectonically,” Bacolcol said.
(We don’t see any pattern. Again, these are all normal activities. The Philippines is very tectonically active.)
He explained that the country has more than 180 active fault segments and six trenches that can potentially generate a series of or simultaneous earthquakes.
“There is always a possibility na magkakaroon ng lindol na sunod-sunod. In fact, every day we record about 30 earthquakes from different active fault segments and trenches. Minsan lang lumalakas at nararamdaman ng tao, but karamihan dito mahina lamang,” Bacolcol said.
“In this case, in one week nagkaroon po tayo ng malalakas na paglindol, but then these are all coincidences,” he added.
(In this case, within one week we experienced strong earthquakes, but these are all coincidences.)
Bacolcol reiterated that stress transfer, or the movement of a nearby fault or segment triggered by an earthquake, can only occur if they are within about five kilometers of each other.
He cited the October 2019 Cotabato earthquakes, where four magnitude 6 tremors occurred due to stress transfer.
“Wag silang matakot, [instead] na matakot they have to prepare for it. These are all independent earthquake generators, walang kinalaman ang isa sa isa, magkakalayo ang activity ng isa and it will not trigger or induce the activity of the other one,” said Bacolcol.
(They should not be afraid; instead of being scared, they have to prepare for it. These are all independent earthquake generators—one has nothing to do with the other, their activities are far apart, and one will not trigger or induce the other.) (TPM/SunStar Philippines)