The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 has occurred near the Philippines. The quake occurred in the waters about 150 kilometers east of the Philippines at 8:48 PM local time on Friday. That is 12:48 UTC. The depth of focus is estimated to be about 33 kilometers. The agency is urging wide areas of the Pacific to watch for tsunami. These include Indonesia, the Philippines, Palau and other regions. The center says the first round of tsunami could reach the Philippines coast at around 9:30 PM local time.