An earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck the Mindanao region in the southern Philippines on Monday, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), triggering scenes of panic in parts of the archipelago as buildings collapsed and several deaths were reported.
The quake struck around 07:37 a.m. local time at a depth of about 35 kilometers (21.7 miles), according to the USGS.
Several deaths have been confirmed, according to the Office of Civil Defense, while response teams are still trying to verify more reports of casualties on the ground.
The country’s seismology agency, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), said the quake hit off the shores of General Santos City in Sarangani province, the southernmost tip of the Mindanao island.
Photos from the local information office in General Santos City, which has about 720,000 people, showed convenience stores and buildings crumbling in the aftermath of the quake.
The strong quake struck as public schools started the new academic year on Monday.
Social media video showed dozens of terrified elementary schoolchildren crouching down outdoors as the ground beneath them swayed violently in the province of Davao Occidental. Other footage showed a high school campus roof which had collapsed while pupils lined up outside the school’s sports field in Davao Del Sur. No injuries were reported in both incidents.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he has “directed all relevant government agencies to act immediately” to evacuate residents and start rescue work.
“To our kababayans [countrymen] in the affected provinces, please heed the tsunami warning. Move to higher ground now. Do not wait. Your life is more important than anything left behind,” he said in a statement.
Matanao National High School, previously damaged by a series of earthquakes in 2019, has now collapsed following the magnitude 7.8 quake.Manman Dejeto/Reuters
Benjie Ancheta, police chief of Alabel town in Sarangani in the Philippines, told Reuters that the police building had some cracks immediately after the quake, which occurred during their flag-raising ceremony.
Ancheta said there were no immediate reports of casualties, but some people fainted following the strong tremor.
“This is the strongest earthquake we’ve experienced,” Ancheta told Reuters by phone.
The quake triggered tsunami warnings from the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the threat had largely passed about five hours after the quake struck, but it still urged people to stay alert and to heed warnings from local authorities as sea levels may fluctuate.
Tremors were felt in Sangihe Islands regency, North Sulawesi province of Indonesia, following the earthquake off the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.Stenly Pontolawokang/Reuters
The Philippines, Indonesia and Japan are situated in the so-called Ring of Fire, an arc of fault lines circling the Pacific Basin that is prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
No tsunami threat has been detected in Hawaii, according to the National Weather Service.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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