A 7.6-magnitude quake struck off the eastern coast of the Philippines late on Friday, killing at least one person in a house collapse, knocking out power in several towns and generating negligible tsunami surges. A tsunami alert originally was issued for several countries in the region including Indonesia and Japan and for Pacific islands as far away as the Northern Marianas, but they all were later lifted, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said. The centre said that very small tsunami waves of 3 centimeters meters were recorded along the eastern Philippine coast near Legazpi city and another nearby location. Benito Ramos, a retired general who heads the country’s disaster-response agency, said in an advisory broadcast nationwide that residents should be on the alert for aftershocks. “Don’t sleep, especially those in the eastern seaboard ... because there might be aftershocks,” he said. Initial warnings of a possible substantial tsunami prompted many coastal residents in the Philippines to head for high ground. “My neighbours and I have evacuated. We are now on our way to the mountains,” fisherman Marlon Lagramado said before the warnings were lifted. AP