Massive 7.8-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Southern Philippines, Tsunami Warnings Issued Across Pacific Region

A powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the southern Philippines on Monday, leaving at least one person dead and several injured, collapsing structures, and prompting widespread tsunami warnings across the region.

Authorities in the Philippines and Indonesia urged coastal residents to evacuate to higher ground immediately after the offshore quake hit approximately 24 kilometers west of Sarangani province in Mindanao, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The earthquake caused the collapse of at least one building in General Santos, a major tuna-processing city with a population exceeding 700,000 people. Police Master Sergeant Robert Dagon confirmed one fatality and four injuries, noting that rescue operations were ongoing and structures continued to be assessed.

“As of now, there is one reported death and four injured. This is only an initial report,” said Master Sergeant Robert Dagon of the General Santos City police. “Many buildings were affected, but I cannot enumerate them now because we are busy with ongoing rescues.”

Videos circulating on social media showed a shopping center with a Jollibee fast food restaurant reduced to rubble in General Santos, while a school building—which officials indicated was unoccupied—collapsed in another city.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos ordered the suspension of school classes in affected areas of Mindanao and called on coastal residents to evacuate immediately. “Move to higher ground now. Do not wait,” he said. “Your life is more important than anything left behind.”

Tsunami warnings triggered

The powerful earthquake triggered tsunami warnings across several countries in the Pacific. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology recorded 1-meter waves in the provinces of Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani, while the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) indicated that tsunami waves up to 3 meters were possible along some Philippine coasts.

The PTWC issued alerts indicating tsunami waves were possible “within the next three hours” along the coasts of the Philippines, Indonesia, Palau, Taiwan, and Papua New Guinea.

Indonesia’s national disaster agency instructed officials in North Sulawesi’s capital of Manado, northern Gorontalo province, and the Sangihe islands to direct residents to evacuate to higher ground in an orderly fashion.

Japanese authorities separately issued a tsunami advisory for portions of its Pacific coast, projecting waves up to one meter in height across various regions starting at 11:30 a.m. local time.

Malaysia’s Meteorological Department issued a tsunami warning for Sabah state on Borneo island, while smaller sea changes were anticipated in Taiwan, Japan, Papua New Guinea, and several western Pacific island nations. The PTWC confirmed an advisory for Guam was lifted approximately two hours after the quake, with no threat reported for Hawaii.

The earthquake, centered 13 kilometers southwest of General Santos at a depth of 10 kilometers according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, was the strongest to hit the Philippines this year. Aftershocks reaching up to 6.5 magnitude followed, the U.S. Geological Survey reported, measuring the original quake at 55 kilometers deep. Variations in measurements by different agencies are common in the immediate aftermath of an earthquake.

Earthquakes are a near-daily occurrence in the Philippines, which lies on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”—an arc of intense seismic activity stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

Eastern Mindanao experienced a pair of earthquakes measuring 7.4 and 6.7 magnitude in October, which killed at least eight people.

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