Dec 2 (Reuters) - 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 metre (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 U.S. Tsunami Warning System said there could be waves of up to 3 metres above the tide level along some Philippine coasts.
The Japanese broadcaster NHK said tsunami waves of up to a metre were expected to reach Japan's southwestern coast around 30 minutes later - by 1:30 a.m. on Sunday (1630 GMT on Saturday).
The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said a quake of magnitude 7.5 had struck at a depth of 63 km (39 miles).
Persons:
Agency Phivolcs, Phivolcs, Mrinmay Dey, Mikhail Flores, Kiyoshi Takenaka, Kevin Liffey, Diane Craft, Alison Williams
Organizations:
Agency, U.S ., NHK, Seismological, U.S . Geographic Survey, Thomson
Locations:
Mindanao, Philippines, Philippine, U.S, Surigao Del Sur, Davao Oriental, Japanese, Hinatuan, Earthquakes, Bengaluru, Manila, Tokyo