People gather on a street in downtown Mexico City during an earthquake on September 8, 2017 (Manila time). Pedro Pardo, AFP
PHIVOLCS: 'No destructive threat to PH'
MANILA (UPDATE) - The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center on Friday warned of waves across countries with coasts facing the Pacific, with the Philippines on watch for elevated sea levels after a powerful temblor hit Mexico.
In a tsunami message issued just before 2 p.m. (Philippine time), the Hawaii-based center said waves "less than 0.3 meters above the tide level" may hit coasts across Asia Pacific, including the Philippines, and parts of Latin America.
The alert was released in the wake of a magnitude 8.1 earthquake that hit the coast of Chiapas, Mexico at 12:49 p.m. Philippine time.
Also included in the warning were Australia, Chile, China, Chuuk, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guam, Hawaii, Honduras, Howland and Baker, Indonesia, Japan, Jarvis Island, Johnson Atoll, Kermadec Islands, Kosrae, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Midway Island, Nauru, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niue, Northern Marianas, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Palau, Palmyra Island, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Pitcairn Islands, Pohnpei, Russia, Solomon Islands, Taiwan, Tonga, Vietnam, Wake Island and Yap.
Waves reaching "more than three meters above the tide are possible along some coasts of Mexico," it said.
Waves from 0.3 meters to 1 meter above the tide level "are possible in some coasts" of American Samoa, Antarctica, Cook Islands, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guatemala, Kiribati, New Zealand, Samoa, Tokelau, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) meanwhile canceled its earlier advisory that had called on residents of coastal communities facing the Pacific to monitor sea level changes.
In an update on 3:29 p.m., PHIVOLCS said "there is no destructive tsunami threat to the Philippines associated with this event."