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Philippines state seismology agency Phivolcs upgraded the powerful earthquake that struck off southern Mindanao on Monday morning to magnitude 7.8, warning the public of aftershocks and a possible tsunami after the offshore tremor, according to local media.

In a bulletin, the state seismology agency said the quake was recorded 7:37 am at a depth of 33 kilometers and was located 32 kilometers south, four degrees west of Maasim, Sarangani, Phil Star reported.

At least one person was killed and four others were injured following earthquakes that struck the Philippines, according to local media reports on Monday.

In an advisory, Phivolcs said "it is expected to experience wave heights of more than one meter above the normal tides and may be higher on enclosed bays and straits," according to Philippines' media ABS-CBN.

The first tsunami waves may arrive between 07:37 am to 09:37 am and they could continue for hours, Phivolcs said.

It urged residents in coastal areas of the following provinces to immediate evacuate to higher grounds or move farther inland.

An employee at the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines told the Global Times on Monday that the embassy had not received any reports of Chinese nationals being injured or killed in the earthquake, adding that relevant information would be released through its official channels.

A Chinese national surnamed Xu, who currently stays in north central coast of Mindanao, told the Global Times that “an earthquake alert suddenly popped up on my phone. I got the warning before I could even feel the quake… The shaking was fairly strong for about a minute, and I immediately evacuated downstairs. I'm safe now.”

According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck the waters off Mindanao, the Philippines (5.55°N, 125.10°E) at 7:37 am Beijing time on Monday. The quake occurred at a depth of 40 kilometers.

Based on preliminary earthquake parameters, the center said that the earthquake could generate a regional tsunami within several hundred kilometers of the epicenter, but is not expected to have a destructive impact on China's coast.

The Tsunami Warning Center said it will continue to monitor and analyze earthquake and tsunami data and will release updates in a timely manner.

Meanwhile, a tsunami advisory was issued for coastal areas stretching from Ibaraki Prefecture to Okinawa Prefecture on Monday after a large earthquake struck near the Philippines, according to the Japan Times.

The Chinese Consulate General in Fukuoka, Japan on Monday reminded Chinese nationals in Japan’s remote islands and coastal areas to closely monitor tsunami alerts and disaster prevention updates after Japan’s meteorological department said the strong earthquake near Mindanao, the Philippines, would trigger tsunamis starting at 11:00 Monday, which will successively hit Miyako Island, Okinawa Main Island, the Amami Islands and the eastern coasts of Miyazaki and Kagoshima Prefectures, with an estimated height of around 1 meter. 

The Consulate General reminded Chinese nationals to immediately stay away from seashores, ports and river estuaries, move to higher ground, complete disaster preparedness and emergency evacuation arrangements, so as to prioritize personal safety.

Separately, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning of waves of up to 3 meters in the Philippines and up to one meter in Malaysia, according to the Japan Times.