20,000+ Displaced as Powerful Philippine Quake Kills 37

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Manila: More than 20,000 people were displaced, and thousands remained in emergency shelters on Tuesday after one of the strongest earthquakes to hit the Philippines in decades killed at least 37 people and injured nearly 500 others.

Rescue teams continued searching damaged and collapsed buildings in the southern part of the country a day after the magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the coast of Mindanao. Authorities said only four people were officially listed as missing, but inspections were continuing to ensure no victims remained trapped under debris.

The earthquake caused widespread destruction across several southern provinces. Landslides and building collapses accounted for most of the deaths, with the hardest-hit areas including General Santos City and Sarangani province. At least 13 people died in General Santos, while another 18 were killed in Sarangani, many of them after a landslide buried homes in the town of Glan.

Thousands of residents fled their homes after the quake, fearing a tsunami. Although tsunami waves were recorded in the Philippines and neighbouring countries, damage from the waves was limited, with only a handful of coastal homes reported destroyed.

Initial government assessments showed that about 2,000 houses and 117 government buildings and facilities were damaged. General Santos International Airport remained closed, leading to the cancellation of dozens of domestic flights, while authorities began distributing food packs and construction materials to affected communities.

The quake also disrupted education across the region. Around 6,000 public school buildings require safety inspections before classes can resume. The earthquake struck on the first day of the new school term, and many of those injured were students attending morning school activities.

Officials warned residents to remain cautious as strong aftershocks could further weaken damaged structures and trigger additional collapses.

The earthquake struck at a depth of 33 kilometres beneath the sea, southwest of Maasim town in Sarangani province. According to seismologists, it was the strongest earthquake to hit the Philippines since 1976, when an undersea quake and tsunami killed about 8,000 people.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. dispatched senior disaster-response and defence officials to oversee rescue operations, relief efforts and damage assessments. Several countries, including the United States, France, Japan and New Zealand, offered support to the Philippines as recovery efforts continued.

The Philippines lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, a region known for frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity, and is among the world's most disaster-prone nations.

Pic Credit: AFP