Tsunami warning after 7.8 quake hits southern Philippines

WEB DESK: At least 12 people have been killed and more than 200 others injured after a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Mindanao island in the southern Philippines on Monday morning, toppling buildings and triggering urgent coastal evacuations

The massive undersea tremor struck at 7:37 am local time off the coast of Sarangani province, sending residents fleeing into the streets in panic as structures began to crumble.

While initial global estimates placed the magnitude as high as 8.2, local and international seismological agencies later verified it as a major 7.8-magnitude quake, according to Al Jazeera.

The tremor triggered immediate regional tsunami warnings across the Philippines, Indonesia, Palau, and Malaysia, though the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center confirmed a few hours later that the threat had largely passed after waves of up to one metre were detected.

Schools and commercial buildings collapse

The port city of General Santos, a major commercial hub with a population of over 700,000, was among the hardest hit by the disaster.

Horrifying footage broadcast on social media showed the terrifying moment upper floors of a commercial complex on Daproza Street collapsed, reducing a prominent Jollibee fast-food outlet to rubble.

Elsewhere in Davao del Sur, panicked students looked on as parts of the Matanao National High School building completely crumpled.

Philippine disaster management officials confirmed that the majority of the 12 fatalities were caused by falling debris and collapsing structures.

In South Cotabato, authorities reported that one victim died from the physical impact of falling masonry, while another succumbed to cardiac arrest during the height of the shaking.

Infrastructure damage has been reported as widespread, with regional police confirming significant cracks in hospitals, government buildings, and key access bridges, including the Bucana Bridge in Davao City.

Emergency response and aftershocks

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr issued a statement assuring the public that the national government was mobilising all available resources for the affected region.

“The national government is moving and we will not leave Mindanao behind,” the President stated, as inter-agency response clusters were placed on a “Red Alert” status.

More than 500 police personnel and disaster response teams have been deployed to oversee operations across over 500 newly activated evacuation centres.

The region has since been rocked by more than 130 aftershocks, including a powerful secondary tremor measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale, which has severely hampered rescue efforts and led authorities to warn citizens against re-entering damaged homes.

Both the Philippines and neighbouring Indonesia sit along the volatile Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a seismically active zone where tectonic shifts frequently cause destructive earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. This earthquake is reportedly the strongest to strike the archipelago since 1990.