Philippines declares emergency as 7.8 magnitude earthquake kills 19
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr suspends classes and pledges support while disaster agency verifies casualty figures in Mindanao.
A magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck off the coast of Mindanao in the southern Philippines on Monday at 07:37 local time, killing at least 19 people and injuring 134. The seismic event, recorded at 23:37 GMT on Sunday, triggered tsunami alerts across the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, and Australia, with small waves subsequently recorded in several regions.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr ordered the suspension of classes in affected areas and pledged national government support, stating that agencies were coordinating their disaster response. The quake coincided with the first day of the school year, with videos showing students in Davao Occidental province scrambling as a corrugated-roof shelter collapsed behind them, though the school reported no injuries.
Casualty figures remain unverified by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, which typically releases an official count approximately one day after an incident. The agency tabulates data from police, local officials, and disaster relief agencies. Initial reports indicate deaths and injuries across South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and General Santos, where buildings including a Jollibee restaurant were reduced to rubble.
More than 130 aftershocks were recorded, with magnitudes ranging from 1.3 to 6.7. Power and communication networks in Sarangani province were temporarily disrupted but have since been restored. General Santos, located near the epicentre, is known as the Philippines' tuna capital and the hometown of boxer and politician Manny Pacquiao.
Tsunami waves measured a few centimetres in Okinawa and 20cm in the Ogasawara Islands, while authorities in Japan initially warned of one-metre-tall waves before confirming smaller measurements. Waves ranging from a few centimetres to 1.4m were also detected along the coasts of Indonesia, Palau, and the Philippines. The Philippines sits on the geologically unstable Ring of Fire, having suffered a magnitude-6.9 earthquake in central Visayas last September that killed more than 70 people.
