MANILA—A ferocious tsunami triggered by an 8.9 magnitude earthquake off Japan’s eastern coast killed hundreds of people and triggered an expansive alert in the Pacific, prompting hundreds of coastal residents in the Philippines to flee.

The 24-foot waves swept away homes, cars, ships and spawned widespread fires in the northeastern coastal city of Sendai, in Miyagi prefecture.

Hours later, small waves, measuring from one foot to 3.3 feet, reached the eastern seaboard of the Philippines.

In Manila, the Department of Foreign Affairs said the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo was checking for Filipinos affected by the quake, the largest on record to hit Japan.

There are some 224,558 Filipinos in the central and northern regions of Japan.

An emergency hotline number was set up at the DFA-OUMWA’s Crisis Management Center for those who would like to inquire about their relatives in Japan. The numbers are 834-4646 and 834-4580.

Requests for information may also be sent through e-mail address dfaoumwa.cmc@gmail.com .