Dozens killed as 7.8 quake hits Philippines

A partially collapsed building following a magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck the Southern Philippines

(Image credit: Daniel Ceng / Anadolu / Getty Images)

What happened

At least 35 people died and more than 200 were injured after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the southern Philippines on Monday. Multiple buildings collapsed in General Santos City, a major port on the populous island of Mindanao, and the quake also triggered deadly landslides and a 3-foot tsunami that hit neighboring islands’ coasts.

The temblor, centered at sea about 20 miles off Mindanao’s southern coast, struck “just as children across the country were getting ready for their first day” of the new school year, said The Wall Street Journal. “Powerful aftershocks” then “rocked the area for about two hours,” said Philippine newspaper The Manila Times. Photos from General Santos City “showed convenience stores crumbling and sheets of concrete layered on top of each other,” CNN said.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. canceled school and directed disaster response teams to the affected provinces. “The national government is moving,” he said, “and we will not leave Mindanao behind.” The Philippine Red Cross said it was “evaluating heavily impacted structures” in General Santos City and will provide “emergency assistance, first aid and psychosocial support where needed.”

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Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.