Strong Earthquake in Philippines Topples Buildings and Prompts Tsunami Warnings


A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines on Monday, causing buildings to collapse and triggering tsunami warnings in the Philippines, Japan, Malaysia and Indonesia.

The quake struck at around 7:37 a.m. local time, about 15 miles southwest of Burias, Philippines, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. There were reports of aftershocks in the area.

Social media footage showed a shopping plaza crumbling into a heap in General Santos City in the Philippines. There were no immediate reports of casualties, but the U.S.G.S. warned that there was a reasonable chance of some fatalities based on the earthquake’s severity and location, and building construction.

Residents of the affected provinces in the Philippines were ordered to move to higher ground after the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center warned of possible waves of up to 3 meters, or about 10 feet. The agency also said that waves of up to 1 meter were possible in some parts of Malaysia.

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a similar tsunami advisory for a wide stretch of the coast in Ibaraki Prefecture, in eastern Japan, to the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, saying that waves of up to 1 meter may hit the affected areas. Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency also warned of a possible tsunami.

A tsunami advisory was also issued for Guam, according to the U.S. Tsunami Warning System. There was no threat to the Pacific coastlines of the United States and Canada, the agency said.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. of the Philippines said in a statement that he had ordered schools to be suspended in all affected areas in Mindanao, and that the government was coordinating its disaster response.

The Philippines is prone to earthquakes, as it is part of the “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped chain of seismologically and geologically active islands that surround the Pacific Ocean.

Last October, a strong earthquake struck off the eastern coast of Mindanao, killing at least seven people and injuring hundreds.

This is a developing story.

John Keefe contributed reporting.



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