False Alarm "Tsunami" Triggers Panic in Cebu City - February 6, 2012 Video

CEBU CITY—“I couldn’t help but feel eerie because people were crying. I started to get scared, too.”

Radio technician Nilo Borrinaga was collecting his wits after being suddenly caught in the mad rush of people while walking on Colon Street following “reports” that a tsunami hit the downtown area.

The fear triggered panic in the city’s major streets as shoppers, office workers, students and even beggars and the usual strollers scrambled in different directions.

Those who stayed on the streets around Fuente Osmeña Rotunda after a 6.9-magnitude earthquake rocked Cebu and Negros shortly before noon Monday were swept to nowhere though the historical landmark was more than a kilometer away from the sea where a tsunami could have originated.

The scare apparently was triggered by a precautionary tsunami alert issued by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) that advised people living in the coastline to be vigilant of any rise in the water level. It was lowered two hours later.
The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no danger of a widespread destructive tsunami.
Coast Guard directive