Hundreds of residents in the east coast of Mindanao in southern Philippines moved to higher grounds due to the tsunami alert issued after the massive earthquake in Chile.

Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Amend Balio told Xinhua Sunday they are confirming where residents in other parts of the Philippines had been evacuated.

Big waves hit the coastal area in the village of Kidalapong, forcing at least a hundred people to evacuate to higher grounds, Inquierer.net quoted Victorina Mendez, police chief of Malita in Davao Del Sur, as saying.

Mayor Michelle Rabat in Mati City in Davao Oriental said the city's disaster teams and the Coast Guard, have been put on alert.

Rabat added that a number of residents living along the white sand beaches of the village of Dahican have also moved to higher and safer grounds after seeing a rise in the water level.

In Tarragona town, which also faces the Pacific Ocean, some residents also panicked and evacuated.

In Tandag, Surigao Del Sur, hundreds of coastal residents evacuated to the municipal hall on Saturday night.

(Xinhua News Agency February 28, 2010)