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Major quake off Philippines kills at least 31, dozen still missing

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake in the southern Philippines on Monday killed at least 31 people, according to provincial authorities, after toppling buildings and sparking tsunami warnings across the region. National disaster authorities said at least a dozen people were still missing, while 134 had sustained injuries. Philippine authorities urged people in affected coastal regions to move to higher ground after the offshore quake hit south of General Santos, a city of about 720,000, where at least nine were killed. A series of powerful aftershocks rocked the area from about two hours after the first quake, according to the United States Geological Survey, with the largest measuring 6.5-magnitude. In General Santos, an AFP journalist watched on Monday afternoon as rescue workers dug through the rubble of a popular grocery store chain in a desperate bid to reach the bodies of two employees buried beneath. Rene Punzalan, disaster chief for hard-hit Sarangani province, told AFP 14 people had died in Glan municipality alone when a landslide buried their homes at the foot of a mountain. “The landslide happened immediately after the earthquake, so many lives were lost,” he said, adding that some areas had yet to report if they had sustained casualties. “The greatest challenge is communication. The power was cut, so it’s hard to get updates,” Punzalan said. “We’re worried about aftershocks,” he added. “We can feel the fear of the residents.” Videos posted to social media and verified by AFP showed a shopping centre with a Jollibee fast food restaurant reduced to rubble in General Santos City, while a school building that officials said was unoccupied crumpled in another. “Lord, it has really collapsed! … The building has really collapsed!” someone can be heard shouting as the abandoned school structure topples. In another video verified by AFP , young schoolchildren could be seen screaming in the arms of their teachers as the quake violently swayed them back and forth on the ground. A flimsy metal structure in the background collapsed as the video uploaded to the school’s official Facebook page came to an end. An accompanying caption said no one was under the structure when it fell. ‘Evacuate now’ Punzalan, the Sarangani disaster chief, told AFP that more than 2,000 people evacuated due to a morning tsunami warning were now awaiting a green light to return to their homes. “(Authorities) are still assessing the situation now if it will be OK to send them home,” he said. A notice from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre had said tsunami waves were possible along the coasts of the Philippines, Indonesia, Palau, Taiwan and Papua New Guinea. But by mid-afternoon, the Philippines and other countries had cancelled their warnings. Waves that did reach the Pacific coast of Japan, where authorities had issued a tsunami advisory, were reported to be no higher than 20 centimetres. ’We will not leave mindanao behind,’ president says President Ferdinand Marcos Jr ordered an immediate disaster response in Mindanao, an island the size of South Korea, with agencies directed to prepare relief supplies and evacuation centres and be ready for possible rescue operations. “The national government is moving and we will not leave Mindanao behind,” he said in a statement. Marcos, who suspended classes across Mindanao island on what was to have been the first day of school, had also called on residents in coastal areas to evacuate immediately. “Move to higher ground now. Do not wait,” he said. “Your life is more important than anything left behind.” The airport in General Santos, meanwhile, has been closed until further notice, officials said. A video verified by AFP showed what appeared to be chunks of ceiling that had collapsed onto the baggage claim area. This comes eight months after the Philippines suffered its deadliest tremor in 12 years, when a shallow 6.9-magnitude quake hit off the island of Cebu, killing 79 people. Two powerful quakes struck Mindanao two weeks after that, the strongest at a magnitude of 7.4. The Philippines and Indonesia experience hundreds of quakes each year and sit on tectonically complex parts of the Pacific Ring of Fire, a seismically active belt stretching from South America to the Russian Far East. The Philippine seismology agency said at least nine strong aftershocks were felt across Mindanao on Monday morning, the strongest of which was a magnitude-6.7. A hospital in General Santos was evacuated due to concerns about cracks on higher floors, while one of the buildings at the city’s Notre Dame of Dadiangas University collapsed, though no one was inside. “I had to duck and shelter myself under the table. And it was very long and strong,” the university president, Manuel de Leon, told broadcaster DZMM. Images from authorities in Sarangani province showed damaged shopfronts with collapsed signs, smashed windows, and piles of rocks from crumbled concrete. Military deployed, Malaysia offers assistance The Philippine military said its disaster response units had been deployed to affected areas. A video shared by a local school the moment the quake struck showed a large group of children sitting on the floor swaying rapidly from side to side, some hugging teachers, before fleeing en masse as a makeshift shelter collapsed behind them. Children react as the roof of a structure at Deped Mahayahay Elementary School collapses during an earthquake in Digos, Mindanao Island, Philippines, June 8, 2026. —Reuters Benjie Ancheta, police chief of Sarangani’s Alabel town, said the quake occurred during a police flag-raising ceremony, causing some people to faint. “This is the strongest earthquake we’ve experienced,” Ancheta said by phone. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said his government was ready to assist the Philippines. “I pray for the safety and wellbeing of all those affected, wishing them strength and courage in the difficult days ahead,” Anwar posted on X.

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