Rescue teams continued searching through collapsed buildings in the southern Philippines on Tuesday, a day after a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Mindanao, killing at least 37 people and displacing more than 20,000 residents.
Authorities said only four people remained officially missing, but emergency crews were still inspecting heavily damaged structures to ensure no survivors were trapped beneath the rubble. Officials warned that the full scale of the disaster could rise as assessments continue.
The earthquake, which struck offshore at a depth of 33 kilometers near Sarangani province, is considered the strongest to hit the country in decades. It triggered panic across multiple provinces, with thousands fleeing coastal areas amid fears of a tsunami. Small tsunami waves were recorded in the Philippines and nearby countries, but major coastal destruction was avoided.
The Office of Civil Defense reported nearly 500 injuries and extensive destruction across multiple provinces, including General Santos City, where at least 13 people were killed due to collapsed buildings and falling debris. In Sarangani province, landslides buried homes in mountainous areas, killing at least 18 people.
Other fatalities were reported in South Cotabato, Davao Occidental, and Balut Island. Officials also confirmed that around 2,000 houses and more than 100 government buildings and facilities were damaged in the initial assessment.
Critical infrastructure has been severely affected, with General Santos International Airport temporarily closed and 63 domestic flights cancelled, except for humanitarian operations. Authorities are also assessing approximately 6,000 school buildings before resuming classes, which had just reopened nationwide after the summer break.
Disaster officials warned that aftershocks remain a serious threat, particularly to structures already weakened by the quake. “We cannot force the immediate reopening of schools because we have to ensure the integrity of the buildings,” said Rafaelito Alejandro of the Office of Civil Defense.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the quake was caused by movement along the Cotabato Trench and is the strongest seismic event in the region since the devastating 1976 earthquake and tsunami, which killed about 8,000 people.
International support has been pledged, with the United States, France, Japan, and New Zealand coordinating with Manila to assist in relief and recovery efforts.
The Philippines, located along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” is one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries, regularly experiencing earthquakes, volcanic activity, and severe tropical storms.
