A strong earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck the southern city of General Santos in the Philippines triggering tsunami alerts across coastal regions. The quake had a depth of 10 kilometres according to the local geosciences department. Small buildings partially collapsed and several other structures including a key access bridge sustained dangerous cracks officials said.
At least 8 people and more than 200 injured are injured according to local authorities. Countries including Japan and Indonesia have prompted emergency evacuations and safety measures in coastal areas. A tsunami warning has also been issued for the next three hours along parts of the coasts of Indonesia, the Philippines, Palau, Taiwan and Papua New Guinea, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a separate alert.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged people to immediately go to higher ground in Philippine areas vulnerable to a tsunami, and Indonesian and Malaysian authorities also issued warnings to their nearby coastal areas.
The quake was caused by movement in the Cotabato Trench at a depth of 10 km, according to 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 we’ve seen,” institute director Teresito Bacolcol told.
Several users on social media platform X shared videos purportedly showing buildings collapsing during the earthquake. Another viral clip shows a shelter falling at a school ground where children had assembled. The video later shows a teacher helping students practise earthquake safety measures before the shelter collapsed. Another user shared on social media, residents are seen running for safety as a building collapses.
Numerous aftershocks followed the 7:37 a.m. Monday quake, which was felt in nearby Malaysia. Tsunami waves were also detected in Indonesia and Malaysia. The international airport in General Santos has temporarily been shut down due to the earthquake leading to the cancellation of 17 domestic flight as said by the civil aviation.