Thousands of people on the Philippines' Pacific coast have returned to their homes after fleeing in terror when a major offshore earthquake triggered a tsunami warning.

Most of the residents had fled the east coast by the time waves of up to half a metre hit coastal areas within an hour of the 7.6-magnitude temblor striking offshore late on Friday.

"They feared they would be swamped by waves as large as those in the Japan tsunami, so it was not difficult to convince them to leave," civil defence chief Benito Ramos said.

"Most of them returned home after the tsunami alert was lifted just after midnight (local time), although about 50 families remained at evacuation centres, fearing a tsunami could still strike."

Evacuations were ordered for the east coasts of the large islands of Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao, impoverished areas that are pounded annually by many of the up to 20 typhoons and storms that hit the country every year.

More than 150 aftershocks have hit since the quake struck.

Government engineers and repair teams have inspected roads, bridges and public buildings and noted only minor damage, including cracks on roads, and several collapsed houses.

Health and social welfare teams have also been deployed to quake-affected areas.

An elderly woman killed in a landslide triggered by the quake is the only reported death.

The quake sent people fleeing to higher ground in fear of a tsunami. ( Reuters: Cheryl Ravelo )

Among those returning home was Samar resident Rosita Abodi.

Before dawn on Saturday, she took her large extended family of 17 including nephews, nieces and grandchildren back home near the coast of Guiuan, about 140 kilometres from the quake's epicentre.

"It was a full moon, and my brother said he saw the water retreat from the shoreline," she said.

"He was the one who warned us to leave.

"When we heard the news we ran, because there was no transport available.

"We slept on cardboard boxes on the floor of a schoolroom. We did not have any blankets nor mosquito nets."

The 60-year-old woman said it was the first time in her life that she was forced from home in Guiuan, a fishing town on the southern tip of Samar, despite the area lying within the Philippines' typhoon belt.

Roman Catholic parish priest Lope Robredillo said Samar's entire east coast suffered a power outage from the quake, but he did not see any visible damage to the town's buildings and roads.

"People here are used to typhoons, but a tsunami is a different proposition because Guiuan is almost entirely surrounded by water," he said.

ABC/AFP