An earthquake of magnitude 7.8 hit the Mindanao region in southern Philippines on Monday, leaving one person dead and four injured before triggering a tsunami alert, said the US Geological Survey.
The earthquake struck around 7.37 am local time, with its epicentre at 24.7 km west-southwest of Burias. It struck at the dept of 35 km (22 miles) off the island of Mindanao.
The massive earthquake forced the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) issued an alert for a tsunami “within the next three hours”, along the coasts of the Philippines, Indonesia, Palau, Taiwan and Papua New Guinea.
Japan also issued a separate tsunami alert for its Pacific coast. In a statement, the Japanese authorities warned that the tsunami waves could be up to one metre (three feet) high and hit different regions of the country.
Meanwhile, authorities in Philippines have said they are monitoring the situation and providing all necessary assistance to the victims. However, the number of casualties are feared to rise as the police said that a “number of buildings” collapsed due to the quake.
“Many buildings were affected, but I cannot enumerate them now because we are busy with ongoing rescues,” General Santos City police’s Master Sergeant Robert Dagon told AFP. “A number of buildings collapsed. Some houses also collapsed.”
Philippines is situated on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of seismic faults around the ocean, which means the country is among the world’s most disaster-prone countries.
Meanwhile, videos have gone viral on social media that showed the intensity of the earthquake. In one such video that is being widely shared on micro-blogging site X, a building could be seen collapsing as the earthquake struck.
In another video, some school students could be seen taking shelter outside, while authorities try to calm them down.
Several other videos on Facebook from General Santos City showed a shopping centre with a Jollibee fast food restaurant collapsing and turning into a rubble. “Lord, it has really collapsed! It has really collapsed! The building has really collapsed!” a person could be heard shouting.
A rescue operation remains underway now in Philippines.ย