A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the southern Philippines on Monday, killing at least one person, collapsing buildings and sparking tsunami warnings across the region.
Authorities in the Philippines and Indonesia urged residents in affected coastal regions to move to higher ground immediately, after the offshore quake hit at a depth of 35km (22 miles) about 24km west of Mindanao’s Sarangani province, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
It struck at 7.37am. Aftershocks up to 6.1 magnitude followed, the USGS said.
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“As of now, there is one reported death and four injured. This is only an initial report,” Master Sergeant Robert Dagon of the General Santos City police said.
“A number of buildings collapsed. Many buildings were affected, but I cannot enumerate them now because we are busy with ongoing rescues.”
Videos posted to social media showed a shopping centre with a Jollibee fast food restaurant collapsing into rubble in the province’s General Santos City, while a building on a local school campus crumpled in another.