7.8 Magnitude Earthquake in Philippines Kills at Least 35, Triggers Tsunami

A powerful offshore earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 struck the southern Philippines on Monday, killing at least 35 people, injuring more than 200 others, and causing widespread damage to buildings and infrastructure. The quake, centered at sea off Mindanao, the country's second most populous island, also generated a tsunami that sent waves of up to 1 meter (3 feet) into nearby coastal areas.

The hardest-hit city was General Santos, a port city of over 700,000 people and a regional hub for the tuna export industry. Several mostly low-rise buildings collapsed or sustained heavy damage there.

Search and rescue teams worked to find people who may have been trapped in a supermarket, a warehouse, a grade school, and other small buildings that either collapsed or were severely damaged, officials said. At least four people remained missing in General Santos.

In the municipality of Glan, in Sarangani province, a landslide triggered by the quake killed 13 villagers, according to Rene Punzalan, a provincial disaster-mitigation official. Four other villagers died in Sarangani.

Most of the other deaths were caused by collapsing buildings and falling debris, including in a damaged mosque, in the southern provinces of South Cotabato and Davao Occidental, and on Balut Island, according to officials Rod Sosmeña and Ednar Dayanghirang.

The quake struck at 7:37 a.m. local time, catching many people off guard.

Rod Sosmeña, a regional director of the Office of Civil Defense, was traveling in General Santos when the quake hit. "Our pickup truck suddenly jerked and I thought we had a flat tire," he told the Associated Press.

"The shaking was very strong and people dashed out of houses into the streets."

More than 100 students in uniforms and a dozen teachers had gathered for a flag-raising ceremony in a grade school compound in the rural town of Malita, Davao Occidental province, when the ground shook, turning the first day of school after a two-month summer break into chaos. "Their excitement on the first day of school turned to trauma," school principal Rosavel Cachuela told the AP.

Some students screamed in panic and wept, but most remained seated and still, preventing any injuries. A motorcycle was damaged when a shed crumbled to the ground.

The international airport in General Santos was temporarily shut due to the earthquake, and 17 domestic flights were canceled, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said.

According to Teresito Bacolcol, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, the quake occurred at a depth of 33 kilometers (20 miles), about 32 kilometers (20 miles) southwest of Maasim town in Sarangani province. He warned people to seek advice before returning to damaged buildings and houses, which could collapse due to aftershocks.

The major earthquake was the strongest to hit the Philippines this year.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the threat of a tsunami largely passed about five hours after the quake. Philippine officials also lifted a tsunami warning by mid-afternoon.

Waves of 1 meter (3 feet) were monitored in the provinces of Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani. Smaller waves were measured in Indonesia, Palau, and as far away as southern Japan.

A 0.5-meter (1.6-foot) wave hit at one time in Kiamba town, Bacolcol said. The quake was also felt in Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo island.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the cancellation of classes and directed disaster-response agencies to immediately get to work in quake-hit provinces, saying "the national government is moving and we will not leave Mindanao behind." The United States, a treaty ally of the Philippines, said it was coordinating with Manila and was ready to support Philippine response efforts.

France, Japan, and New Zealand also expressed support.

The Philippines is often hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of seismic faults around the ocean. The archipelago is also battered by about 20 typhoons and tropical storms each year, making it one of the world's most disaster-prone countries.