A magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck off the coast of Mindanao in the southern Philippines at 7:37 local time on Monday, collapsing buildings, triggering landslides, and killing at least 32 people, officials said.
The quake, which hit near General Santos City – the tuna capital and hometown of boxing champion Manny Pacquiao – sent terrified students in Davao Occidental squatting on shaking ground as a corrugated-roof shelter collapsed behind them. No injuries were reported at that school, but elsewhere the devastation was widespread.
“At least 32 dead after magnitude-7.8 earthquake strikes southern Philippines, collapsing buildings and triggering tsunami warnings.”
More than 100 people have been injured across several provinces, almost two dozen are missing, and 10,000 residents have been preemptively evacuated, authorities said. In the coastal province of Sarangani, about 20km from the epicentre, 17 people died, many in a landslide. The quake temporarily cut power and communications there before they were restored.
“Many buildings were affected, but I cannot enumerate them now because we are busy with ongoing rescues,” Robert Dagon of the General Santos City police told AFP.
Junie Castillo, a spokesperson for the Office of Civil Defence, said 19 people were feared dead, 134 injured and 12 missing, but these numbers were still being verified. The national disaster agency is expected to provide an official update in the coming days.
Video verified by the Guardian showed the upper floor of a Jollibee restaurant collapsing and the outer concrete walls of a commercial complex giving way in General Santos City. In Davao del Sur, part of a high school collapsed as students gathered outside. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology placed the epicentre 13km south-west of General Santos City, at a depth of 6.2 miles.
The quake triggered tsunami alerts for the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan and Australia. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said waves up to 3 metres were possible on some Philippine coasts but later said the threat had largely passed. In Indonesia’s North Sulawesi and North Maluku provinces, residents felt the tremors.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr ordered the suspension of classes in affected areas and said evacuation centres were ready. “The national government is moving and we will not leave Mindanao behind,” he said.
More than 130 aftershocks, with magnitudes from 1.3 to 6.7, were recorded. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office issued a travel alert for British nationals, warning that aftershocks are expected and there may be damage to buildings and infrastructure. It advised those in affected coastal areas to evacuate to higher ground.
Earthquakes are common in the Philippines, which sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”. Last September, a magnitude-6.9 earthquake in the Visayas region killed more than 70 people.
The death toll is expected to rise as rescue operations continue.