A 7.6 earthquake struck off the Philippine coast on Friday, triggering a small tsunami that hit the eastern part of the archipelago, seismologists said.

The US Geological Survey said the quake had a depth of 34 kilometres (21 miles) and hit at 1247 GMT, 139 kilometres east of the city of Sulangan on Samar island. A 16-centimetre (six-inch) tsunami hit the eastern Philippines about two hours later, raising fears that bigger waves were imminent.

But the US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre shortly afterwards lifted its tsunami warnings for the Philippines and Indonesia. Tsunami warnings had also initially been raised for Japan, Taiwan and several Pacific islands, but they were almost immediately lifted. The warnings led to a few hours of terror for residents along the east coast of the Philippines, many of whom were without electricity because power lines had been cut during the earthquake.