A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the southern coast of the Philippines on the afternoon of July 17, killing at least 35 people and injuring over 200, according to officials. The quake is the strongest to hit the country this year, said Teresito Bacolcol, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
The epicenter was located offshore near Mindanao, the second-most populous island in the archipelago, at a depth of 33 kilometers, approximately 32 kilometers southwest of the town of Maasim in Sarangani province. The earthquake caused severe damage in General Santos City, where several low-rise buildings collapsed or were heavily damaged.
Rene Punzalan, a disaster mitigation official in Sarangani province, said a landslide in the municipality of Glan claimed the lives of 13 people. Four other residents in Sarangani also died. According to Ednar Dayanghirang, a regional disaster mitigation official, most other fatalities resulted from building collapses and falling debris, including at a damaged mosque in the provinces of South Cotabato, Davao Occidental, and Balut Island.
Tsunami damage was reported in at least one coastal village in the south, while smaller waves were recorded in Indonesia, Palau, and as far as southern Japan. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the tsunami threat had largely passed about five hours after the earthquake struck. Philippine authorities also lifted the tsunami warning by midday. Six stilt huts were damaged in a coastal village in Zamboanga del Sur province due to the earthquake and large waves.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the suspension of classes and directed disaster response agencies to work urgently in affected provinces, declaring: 'The national government is acting and we are not leaving Mindanao behind.' The United States, France, Japan, and New Zealand have expressed readiness to assist the Philippines in its response efforts.
The Philippines frequently experiences earthquakes and volcanic eruptions because it lies on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire,' an arc of seismic faults encircling the ocean.
