Earthquake In Philippines: Residents Advised Not To Visit Islands In Semporna

SEMPORNA, June 8 (Bernama) -- The tremors of the earthquake that hit Mindanao, Philippines were also felt by residents here this morning.

A private sector worker in Tawau, Hamzah Sainudin, 42, said the tremors were felt for about 10 seconds while he was at the Seafest Jetty at about 7.40 am.

"At the time of the incident, I was waiting with a friend at the jetty to go to Mabul Island for work. At 8.40, I boarded a boat to go to the island, and before that stopped at Kampung Bangau-Bangau Tourist Jetty. The sea conditions at that time were quite rough.

"Upon arriving at the tourist jetty, we were advised by the fire department not to go to the island due to safety factors following the earthquake tremors and the expected tsunami," he told Bernama.

Hamzah said after that, the boat was taken back to the mainland in Semporna and currently the situation in Semporna is quite calm.

Meanwhile, a resident of Kampung Bugaya, Anas Mulpi, 28, said he also felt the tremors for about 4 seconds while doing maintenance work.

"At that time, I was climbing the stairs to repair the ceiling at a premises in Semporna after the tremors, the siren sounded," he said.

The 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck Mindanao, Philippines at 7.37 am at a depth of 50 kilometres with the epicentre located at latitude 5.7 degrees north and longitude 125.1 degrees east.

Following the development, a tsunami warning of 0.4 metre is expected to hit coastal areas in Tawau, Semporna, Kunak and Lahad Datu between 10.30 am and 12 pm today.

-- BERNAMA