Philippine earthquake LIVE: Tsunami threat issued after 7.6 quake strikes Pacific

At 9.43am local time, people across the southern Philippines experienced a massive 7.6M earthquake, with residents reporting being unable to stand amid the buckling ground.

Video from inside a building in Visayas shows solid walls bending and shaking while inhabitants are forced to the floor by the seismic shock.

The Philippines' President Ferdinand Marcos has released a public statement, calling for calm while urging citizens in affected areas to flee to higher ground amid concerns of large three-metre waves.

Marcos said: "We are now assessing the situation on the ground and ensuring that everyone is safe," adding that civil and military agencies were being directed to evacuate residents in affected areas.

The country's leader also urged people to "stay alert and calm," while repeating instructions to move to higher ground and stay there until further notice.

Several aftershocks have been felt in the aftermath of the major earthquake that has struck off the coast of the Philippines, with tsunami warnings now in effect.

Tremors measuring between 5.9 and 6.0M have been recorded in the past hour, with residents in the large city Davao seen fleeing the Southern Philippines Medical Center amid the urgent evacuation order.

"Some buildings were reported to have been damaged," Davao Oriental Governor Edwin Jubahib told local broadcaster DZMM. "It was very strong".

Geologists interpreting early data from the large 7.6M quake have warned that 'hazardous waves' could be possible more than 300km away.

The Philippines' many coastal communities can expect freak waves up to three metres above the usual height, with smaller waves likely in Indonesia, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Honolulu has cautioned.

These hazardous waves, extending far beyond the quake's epicentre, can sometimes occur in the wake of major tremors - as visualised by Tohoku University below.

Indonesian authorities are also urging residents in the regions of the country closest to the earthquake's epicentre to evacuate in the face of a potential tsunami.

People living in the the North Sulawesi and Papua areas are affected by the alert, according to Reuters.

Residents in the southern Philippines have been issued an urgent tsunami warning in the aftermath of the 7.6M earthquake that struck in the past hour.

The warning reads: "Based on the local tsunami scenario database, it is expected to experience wave heights of more than one metre above the normal tides and may be high on enclosed bays and straits.

"It is forecasted that the first tsunami waves will arrive between 9.43am and 11.42am PST, October 10. These waves may continue for hours."

Residents from Eastern Samar to Sungao Del Sur are being "strongly advised to immediately evacuate," with officials urging people to find higher ground and move inland.

The earthquake was recorded by monitoring group USGS as being located 20-miles east of the major regional city of Davao, which has a population of nearly two-million people.