19 dead, 200 injured in M7.8 Mindanao quake

An offshore magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Mindanao on Monday morning, killing at least 19 people and injuring more than 200 others.

General Santos City was among the hardest hit, recording seven fatalities, 130 injuries, and at least seven missing persons after structures partially collapsed.

Five additional deaths occurred across South Cotabato, Davao Occidental, and Balut Island, while panicked students suffered minor injuries during nationwide first-day school openings.

The tremor was centered southwest of Maasim, Sarangani, triggering 1-meter tsunami waves along nearby coasts without causing immediate sea-surge casualties.

However, there have been no reports of damage or casualties from the tsunami, according to Teresito Bacolcol, the director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

“It’s a major earthquake and we’re expecting damage and we’ve already seen some damaged buildings based on videos online,” Bacolcol said in a statement.

The disaster forced the temporary closure of the General Santos international airport, canceled 17 domestic flights, and caused widespread property damage from falling debris.

This has also triggered localized tsunami warnings in neighboring Malaysia and Indonesia.

Malaysia’s Meteorological Department issued a tsunami warning for Sabah state on Borneo island, which sits a short sea distance from the southern Philippines.

Meanwhile, a tidal gauge off Indonesia’s Sulawesi Island recorded a tsunami wave measuring 83 centimeters (2.7 feet).

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. pledged full government support, “the national government is moving and we will not leave Mindanao behind.”

The magnitude 7.8 Mindanao quake is the strongest to strike the Philippines this year.