At least 37 people have died and hundreds have been injured after a magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck the southern Philippines early on Monday, causing buildings to collapse and triggering tsunami alerts. The quake hit about 20km off the coast of Sarangani province, with tremors felt strongly across Mindanao and as far as Manado in Indonesia.
Civil defence officials reported 37 killed, 479 injured and four missing, mostly due to falling debris and landslides. Around 88,000 people have been affected, including 20,690 displaced. Authorities urged residents not to enter damaged buildings due to the risk of aftershocks.
Video footage showed the collapse of a Jollibee restaurant's upper floor and a commercial complex's outer walls in General Santos City, near the epicentre. In Davao del Sur, part of a high school collapsed as students gathered outside. Power outages were reported, and people were advised to move to higher ground.
Multiple hospitals were damaged, according to the Philippines Red Cross chairman Richard Gordon, who said the injured were being treated in makeshift tents due to fears of hospital collapses. The quake struck at 7:37am local time, with its epicentre 13km south-west of General Santos City and a depth of 6.2 miles, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
Tsunami warnings for the southern Philippines, northern Indonesia and Malaysia's Sabah state were cancelled after more than six hours. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said evacuation centres were operational and assured that the government would not abandon Mindanao. The earthquake occurred as schools reopened, with a video showing panicked pupils at Mahayhay elementary school in Davao scrambling for safety during a flag ceremony. Marcos ordered the suspension of classes in affected areas.
