A false tsunami warning allegedly sparked by a "fake prophet" sent thousands of villagers fleeing their homes and has affected resorts south of Manila yesterday, officials said. Local officials said most of the evacuees were from the coastal towns of Nasugbu and Lian, which the man reportedly claiming to be an occultist said would bear the brunt of the tsunami.Nasugbu Mayor Antonio Barcelon told reporters that up to 40,000 of the evacuees were from the barangays of Balaytigue, Bukana, Calayo, Natipuhan, Papaya, and Wawa in his town. Mayor Osita Vergara of Lian said the tsunami scare also affected residents from the villages of Balibago, Buyubusan, Luyahan, Lumanyag and Matabungkay and San Diego in her municipality. "They started leaving their houses Monday midnight as rumors of an oncoming tsunami spread like wildfire," she said in Filipino.
Local reports said an unidentified old man who claimed to be a prophet had warned that a tsunami would hit the Batangas shoreline 13 days after a minor quake was felt in the area last March 1. They described the rumor-monger as a "male vagabond clad in a white gown and carrying a wooden stick."