Rescue operations in the southern Philippines are being complicated by ongoing aftershocks following a devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Monday, killing at least 45 people and leaving 17 others missing. In General Santos city, a dramatic scene unfolded Wednesday when a strong aftershock forced dozens of rescuers to flee a partially collapsed grocery store as concrete debris rained down.
Safety officers blew whistles and shouted warnings, allowing about 30 firefighters and coast guard personnel to dash to safety just moments before more debris fell. The coastal city, known as the country's tuna capital, was among the hardest hit by the quake, which caused widespread destruction across southern Mindanao, the Philippines' second most populous region.
Ressa Mia Tactaquin-Betoya, a spokesperson for the firefighters searching for the last missing employee in the ruined grocery, described the aftershock as terrifying. "It was scary because we don't want our rescuers to be harmed so the area must be secured before they can go back in," she told the Associated Press.
The earthquake has triggered more than 2,100 aftershocks, including several measuring up to 6.4 magnitude, which are strong enough to cause additional casualties and damage, according to Teresito Bacolcol, head of the Philippines Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. More than 25,000 people remain displaced, with many staying in 45 government-run emergency shelters, still too traumatized to return home.
Monday's quake was one of the most powerful to hit the Philippines in half a century. It injured at least 630 people and damaged more than 3,100 houses, 29 roads, 11 bridges, and over 100 government buildings.
The international airport in General Santos was also damaged, forcing an indefinite shutdown except for government and military flights transporting aid and disaster-response personnel. About 6,000 public school buildings in affected provinces must be assessed before classes can resume.
The quake struck on the first day of classes after a two-month summer break, and many of the injured were young students who had gathered for morning flag-raising ceremonies. Most deaths were caused by falling debris from collapsed buildings and landslides in General Santos and the nearby provinces of Sarangani, South Cotabato, and Davao Occidental.
At least one person died after being swept out to sea, as waves up to 4.6 feet above tide level were measured in the southern Philippines. Smaller waves reached Indonesia, Palau, and as far as southern Japan before tsunami warnings were lifted.
Seven swimmers near General Santos were swept away by strong currents minutes after the quake; three were rescued, one swam back to shore, one drowned, and two remain missing. The earthquake was triggered by movement in the Cotabato Trench and is one of the strongest since an 8.1-magnitude quake in 1976 that killed about 8,000 people.
The Philippines, located on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," is frequently hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.