A major earthquake struck under the sea near the Philippines on Friday, briefly triggering tsunami warnings for the region.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude 7.6 quake was centered to the east of the Philippines, about 96 kilometers from the town of Sulangan. It initially said the quake had a magnitude of 7.9.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued warnings for the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan and Palau but cancelled the tsunami warnings after the threat passed.

Philippine officials say people living in the eastern Samar region evacuated to higher ground. They say the earthquake has caused some power outages and damage to structures.

In March 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered a tsunami that struck northeast Japan. More than 15,000 people were killed. The disaster also caused major damage to Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant.