7.8 quake kills at least 35 in Philippines, triggers tsunami

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the southern Philippines early Monday, killing at least 35 people, injuring more than 200 others and generating a tsunami that sent waves crashing into coastal communities as far away as Japan and Indonesia, The Korea Times reported.

The quake — the strongest to strike the Philippines in 2026 — caused widespread building collapses across General Santos, a port city of more than 700,000 people, and prompted Pacific-wide tsunami alerts, underscoring the chronic seismic risk faced by nations along the "Ring of Fire."

The earthquake struck at 7:37 a.m. at a depth of 33 kilometers in waters off Mindanao island, roughly 32 kilometers southwest of Maasim town in Sarangani province, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, as cited by The Korea Times. Several buildings collapsed across General Santos, the region's main commercial hub, and the city's international airport was temporarily shut down while 17 domestic flights were canceled. At least four people remained missing in the city.

A landslide set off by the tremor struck Glan municipality in Sarangani province, killing 13 villagers. Four additional deaths were reported elsewhere in the province, according to The Korea Times.

"Our pickup truck suddenly jerked and I thought we had a flat tire. The shaking was very strong and people dashed out of houses into the streets," said Rod Sosmeña, regional director of the Office of Civil Defense, according to The Korea Times citing the Associated Press.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued alerts after the quake produced a one-meter tsunami. A 1.4-meter wave struck Kiamba town, while swells of 83 centimeters were measured at Indonesia's Sulawesi island. Smaller waves — 30 centimeters in Palau and up to 20 centimeters at monitoring stations in Japan — were also recorded, the Korea Times reported.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered classes canceled and directed disaster-response agencies to mobilize. Marcos said "the national government is moving and we will not leave Mindanao behind," according to The Korea Times.

The disaster struck on the first day of the school year for many students in the region. "Their excitement on the first day of school turned to trauma," said Rosavel Cachuela, a school principal in Malita, as reported by The Korea Times citing the Associated Press.

The Philippines lies within the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of seismic fault lines circling the ocean basin that makes the archipelago one of the world's most earthquake-prone nations.