Major Offshore Quake Rocks Southern Philippines, Causes Landslides and Coastal Damage

Major Offshore Quake Rocks Southern Philippines, Causes Landslides and Coastal Damage

A powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the coast of the southern Philippines on Monday morning local time, causing at least 32 deaths, hundreds of injuries, structural collapse, and a small tsunami that produced roughly 3‑foot waves along nearby coasts.

Rene Punzalan, a disaster-mitigation official of Sarangani province told the DZBB radio network that 13 villagers were killed when a landslide set off by the earthquake hit houses in the mountainous town of Glan. Four other villagers died in Sarangani for still-unclear reasons, he said.

This was the strongest earthquake to hit the Philippine archipelago this year. The quake caused small buildings to collapse and sparked small tsunamis in the southern Philippines and smaller waves that were detected in Indonesia and Palau and as far away as southern Japan.

“It’s a major earthquake,” Teresito Bacolcol, the director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said, warning people to seek advice before returning to damaged buildings and houses which could collapse due to aftershocks.

“Our pickup truck suddenly jerked and I thought we had a flat tire,” Rod Sosmeña, regional director of the Office of Civil Defense, told The Associated Press from the hard-hit port city of General Santos, where he was traveling when the quake struck at 7:37 a.m. “The shaking was very strong and people dashed out of houses into the streets.”

Terrified Philippine school kids cry out in fear as deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocks region https://t.co/O49jxAEiyW pic.twitter.com/nGJFqr3LVp

— New York Post (@nypost) June 8, 2026

Tsunami damage was reported in a coastal village and a number of deaths were caused by a landslide.

Tsunami damage was reported in at least one southern coastal village, while smaller waves rippled across Indonesia and Palau and reached as far as southern Japan.

A deadly landslide also tore through Glan in Sarangani province, killing 13 villagers.

The earthquake was the strongest to hit the Philippines this year, according to Teresito Bacolol of the Philippines Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, who warned residents to seek guidance before returning to damaged buildings that could collapse in aftershocks.

The quake was centered at sea off Mindanao, the country’s second most populous island.

The affected region lies close to the Cotabato Trench, one of several active subduction systems around the Philippine Mobile Belt, where oceanic lithosphere of the Celebes Sea/Philippine Sea sector is being consumed beneath Mindanao. Over one hundred aftershocks have been reported so far.

The quake on Monday hit off the shores near General Santos City in Sarangani province, the southernmost tip of the Mindanao island, the country’s seismology agency, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.

As many as 138 aftershocks occurred after the initial earthquake, according to the seismology agency. Authorities warned of more aftershocks near the epicenter of the quake.

Photos from the local information office in General Santos City, which is where about 720,000 people reside, showed convenience stores crumbling and sheets of concrete layered on top of each other.

I'm seeing reports of major damage in General Santos City in the Philippines after the recent M7.8 earthquake… pic.twitter.com/7ggAim7Tgl

— Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1) June 8, 2026

International response efforts are being organized.

The United States, a treaty ally of the Philippines, said it was coordinating with Manila and was ready to support Philippine response efforts. France, Japan and New Zealand also expressed support.

“Our pickup truck suddenly jerked and I thought we had a flat tire,” Rod Sosmeña, a regional director of the Office of Civil Defense, told The Associated Press from General Santos, where he was traveling when the quake struck at 7:37 a.m.

“The shaking was very strong and people dashed out of houses into the streets,” Sosmeña said.

Ground deformation reported in Alabel, Sarangani following the powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake in the Philippines

Multiple cottages at Ladol Beach Resort in Brgy. Ladol collapsed as the strong quake struck the region Alabel, Sarangani Province, Philippines pic.twitter.com/x3i4No3UZG

— Surajit (@surajit_ghosh2) June 8, 2026

As rescue teams continue to navigate aftershocks, damaged infrastructure, and remote terrain, hopes rest on swift coordination between local authorities and international partners to deliver aid, restore critical services, and prevent further loss of life. Here’s hoping those efforts aren’t hampered by the aftershocks.

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