Rescuers in the southern Philippines continued searching through damaged buildings on Tuesday, a day after a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the region, killing at least 37 people and displacing more than 32,000. The quake, one of the strongest to hit the country in 50 years, was centered off the coast of Mindanao, the nation's second most populous island.
Officials reported that nearly 500 people were injured, and many residents fled their homes fearing a tsunami. Although waves up to 1.6 feet above tide level were measured, the only reported tsunami damage was to six stilt shanties in a coastal village.
Smaller waves reached Indonesia, Palau, and as far as southern Japan.
The earthquake caused widespread destruction, particularly in General Santos, a coastal city of over 700,000 known as the country's tuna capital. At least 13 people died there due to collapsed buildings and falling debris.
In Sarangani province, 18 people lost their lives, most in a landslide that buried houses in the mountain town of Glan, according to Rafaelito Alejandro of the Office of Civil Defense. Other fatalities were reported in South Cotabato, Davao Occidental, and on Balut Island.
The initial government assessment indicated that about 2,500 houses and 117 government buildings were damaged across several provinces.
The international airport in General Santos remained closed for a second day, canceling 63 domestic flights except for humanitarian missions. Approximately 6,000 public school buildings in affected provinces need inspection before classes can resume.
The quake struck on the first day of the school year after summer break, and many of the injured were students gathered for morning flag-raising ceremonies. Authorities warned that buildings with cracks could collapse due to aftershocks.
"We cannot force the immediate reopening of schools because we have to ensure the integrity of the buildings," Alejandro said.
The earthquake, centered at sea at a depth of 33 kilometers (20 miles) about 32 kilometers (20 miles) southwest of Maasim in Sarangani, was triggered by movement in the Cotabato Trench. Teresito Bacolcol, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, noted it was the strongest since the 1976 quake of magnitude 8.1 that generated tsunami waves killing about 8,000 people.
The institute plans to commemorate that anniversary in August by installing markers to remind vulnerable areas of the need for vigilance. A 1990 earthquake of magnitude 7.8 killed over 1,000 people in northern provinces.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. deployed top defense and mitigation officials from Manila to oversee search and rescue, distribute food packs and construction materials, and assess damage to bridges and roads.
The United States, a treaty ally, offered support, along with France, Japan, and New Zealand. The Philippines, located on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," frequently experiences earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, and is also hit by about 20 typhoons annually, making it one of the world's most disaster-prone countries.