The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology on Monday said the threat of a possible tsunami hitting the Philippines is now over.
Phivolcs chief Renato Solidum said Visayas and Mindanao residents who were evacuated after a tsunami alert was raised Saturday following the Chile quake can now return to their homes.
Solidum said Phivolcs lifted the tsunami warning on Sunday afternoon in the absence of unusual, significant sea level changes near the country's coasts in front of the Pacific Ocean. He said initial waves earlier on Sunday had been small, particularly in Eastern Samar, and most of the Pacific Islands had been spared damage.
"The Philippines and Japan are the last countries in the Pacific Ocean to get hit in the event of a tsunami. This is the reason why we were one of the last countries to lift the tsunami warning," Solidum told ABS-CBN's Umagang KayGanda.
In a separate interview, Associate Professor Mario Associate Professor of the UP National Institute of Geological Sciences said the distance of Chile from the Philippines meant that the tsunami had weakened before it could reach the country.
"Even though it was a high magnitude earthquake, it was already decreased in amplitude when it hit the Philippines and Japan," he said.
Before the Chile quake, a series of earthquakes rocked the Philippines, Japan and New Zealand on Saturday. Phivolcs recorded a magnitude 5.3 quake in General Santos City and 3.3 quake quake in Butuan.
But Japan had a stronger magnitude 6.9 quake.
Solidum, meanwhile, advised local governments and schools across the country to step up their earthquake drills.