The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said it had not detected a tsunami threat to the country after a “very strong” earthquake struck near the coast of northern Chile on Friday, July 19.
Phivolcs said the 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck at 9:51 a.m.
“No destructive tsunami threat exists based on available data,” it pointed out, adding that “no action [is] required.”
Phivolcs explained that tsunamis are a series of sea waves commonly generated by undersea earthquakes and can reach heights of more than 5 meters.
It clarified that tsunamis are often mistakenly referred to as tidal waves and are sometimes confused with storm surges.