The Philippine Embassy in Tokyo advised Filipinos in Japan to take the necessary precautionary measures and to closely monitor the news after a massive 8.9 magnitude quake that country on Friday. A statement issued by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Saturday said the Embassy advised Filipinos to proceed to the nearest fire station or city hall in their areas in case of emergency. The Philippine Embassy also requested the Filipino organizations to provide information on any Filipino injury, casualty or requests for assistance, the DFA said. In its report to the DFA, the embassy said the Japanese government urged people in coastal and low-lying areas to evacuate to higher ground due to the threat of tsunamis. The Embassy has set up emergency landline numbers for Filipinos in Japan:
+81-3-5562-1570; +81-3-5562-1577, and +81-3-5562-1590. The DFA said as soon as telephone operations in Japan are back to normal, Filipinos may also contact these other emergency numbers: +81-3-5562-1573 and +81-3- 5562-1574. For inquiries, Filipinos may also send an email to: emergency@philembassy.net. Phone networks down According to the DFA, landline and mobile phone networks in the embassy's area are still down. However, internet services remain available. In its report to the DFA, the Embassy stated that it has established contact with the Philippine Honorary Consulate in Morioka. The honorary consulate was instructed to look after the condition of Filipinos in its respective area. Filipinos may also contact the Philippine Honorary Consulates as soon as telephone service resumes operations: Philippine Consulate General in Osaka: +81-90-4036-7984 and +81-6-6910-7881. Philippine Honorary Consulate General in Sapporo: +81-11-614-8090 Philippine Honorary Consulate General in Morioka: may be contacted at telephone number +81-19-626-9139. Philippine Honorary Consulate General in Nagoya: +81-52-584-5698 Philippine Honorary Consulate General in Naha: +81-98-892-5486. Not much damage in other areas Earlier, the Philippine Consulate General in Osaka reported to the DFA that there is not much damage to the western and southern regions of Japan and there are yet no reported injuries within their area. In Manila, the DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (DFA- OUMWA) also set up hotline numbers and an e-mail address for those who would like to inquire about the conditions of Filipino relatives in Japan. The hotline numbers at the DFA-OUMWA’s Crisis Management Center are: 834-4646 834-4580. For requests for information, people may send an email to: dfaoumwa.cmc@gmail.com. In its written report to the DFA, the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo stated that as of 10:40 p.m. (Japan time), the local media have reported around 80 casualties and around 89 missing. There are some 1,309 Filipinos in Miyagi prefecture, the location of Sendai, Honshu which bore the brunt of the quake. There are 305,972 Filipinos in Japan. Tsunami According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), a tsunami is "a series of sea waves commonly generated by under-the-sea earthquakes and whose heights could be greater than five meters." Phivolcs said "tsunamis can occur when the earthquake is shallow-seated and strong enough to displace parts of the seabed and disturb the mass of water over it." According to Phivolcs, the natural signs of an approaching tsunami are: 1. A felt earthquake; 2. Unusual sea level change: Sudden sea water retreat or rise; 3. Rumbling sound of approaching waves. - VVP, GMA News 
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