Major earthquake in Philippines kills at least 16, spawns yard-high tsunami

Manila, Philippines — – A 7.8-magnitude earthquake offshore shook the southern Philippines on Monday, killing at least 16 people, injuring more than 200, mostly in damaged buildings, and sending a 10-foot tsunami onto nearby shores.

Several buildings collapsed and earthquake damage occurred to important infrastructure in the city of General Santos, and tsunami damage was reported in at least one coastal village. Smaller waves were measured in Indonesia and Palau and as far south as Japan.

“This is a major earthquake and we expect damage,” Teresito Bacolcol, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, told The Associated Press.

The strongest earthquake to hit the Philippines this year occurred offshore at a depth of 20 miles, about 20 miles southwest of the town of Maasim in Sarangani province, according to the Philippine institute.

General Santos, a southern port city of more than 700,000 people that is a hub for the tuna export industry and other trade, was among the hardest hit.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said “the national government is taking action and we will not leave Mindanao behind.”

After the earthquake at 7.37 in the morning, which was also felt in Malaysia, there were many aftershocks. Smaller tsunami waves were detected in Indonesia and Malaysia.

At least seven people were killed and about 130 injured in General Santos, with several small buildings partially collapsing and many structures, including a key access bridge, suffering dangerous cracks, Rod Sosmeña, regional director of the Office of Civil Protection, told the AP.

Five more people were killed in the southern provinces of South Cotabato and Davao Occidental and on Balut Island, according to Sosmeña and another official, Ednar Dayanghirang.

Sosmeña said authorities were checking reports that some students were trapped in a two-story school collapse in General Santos. He could not immediately provide details, but national police said at least seven people were missing in General Santos.

Public schools reopened nationwide on Monday after summer vacation. More than 100 students who attended the morning flag-raising ceremonies were injured and some fainted in panic, Dayanghirang said.

Civil aviation officials said the international airport in General Santos was temporarily closed and 17 domestic flights were cancelled.

“Our truck suddenly shook and I thought we had a flat tire,” Sosmeña said. “People rushed from their homes to the streets.”

Dayanghirang said he “could barely stand and keep my balance when the ground shook as I was walking out of my house” in the southern port city of Davao.

DZRH radio in Manila reported that the small commercial building housing the provincial station partially collapsed and staff were thrown to the ground floor without injury. It was unclear whether any other people were trapped in the rubble of the four-story office building. Debris also fell from other buildings, hitting tricycle taxis parked below.

Waves of 3 meters were observed in Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani provinces.

The Malaysian Meteorological Department has issued a tsunami warning for the state of Sabah on the island of Borneo. Sabah is just a boat ride away from the southern Philippines. A 2.7-meter tsunami was measured by a measuring instrument off the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the depth of the original earthquake was 34 miles. Differences in measurements made by different institutions in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake are common.

One of the world’s most disaster-prone countries, the Philippines is frequently subject to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the ocean. The archipelago is also the target of approximately 20 typhoons and tropical storms each year.