A 7.8 magnitude quake in the Philippines kills at least 35, collapses buildings and triggers tsunami

By — Jim Gomez, Associated Press Jim Gomez, Associated Press By — Joeal Calupitan, Associated Press Joeal Calupitan, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/a-7-8-magnitude-quake-in-the-philippines-kills-at-least-32-collapses-buildings-and-triggers-tsunami Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter A 7.8 magnitude quake in the Philippines kills at least 35, collapses buildings and triggers tsunami World Updated on Jun 8, 2026 11:54 AM EDT — Published on Jun 8, 2026 9:56 AM EDT DAVAO, Philippines (AP) — An offshore earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 hit the southern Philippines on Monday, killing at least 35 people, injuring more than 200 others mostly in ruined buildings and sending a 1-meter (3-foot) tsunami into nearby coasts. Several mostly low-rise buildings collapsed or sustained heavy damages in the hard-hit city of General Santos. Tsunami damage was reported in at least one southern coastal village. Smaller waves were measured in Indonesia and Palau and as far away as southern Japan. READ MORE: A list of deadly earthquakes in the Philippines, located on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire' The quake also triggered a landslide in Glan, a municipality in the province of Sarangani, that killed 13 villagers, Rene Punzalan, a provincial disaster-mitigation official, told the DZBB radio network. Four other villagers died in Sarangani, he said. The major earthquake was the strongest to hit the Philippines this year, Teresito Bacolcol, the director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, said. He warned people to seek advice before returning to damaged buildings and houses, which could collapse due to aftershocks. 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. Epicenter in sea off Mindanao More than 100 students in uniforms and a dozen teachers had gathered for a flag-raising ceremony in a coconut tree-ringed grade school compound in the rural town of Malita in Davao Occidental province when the ground shook, turning the first day of school after a two-month summer break into chaos. "Their excitement on the first day of school turned to trauma," school principal Rosavel Cachuela told the AP. Some of the young students screamed in panic and wept but most remained seated and still, preventing any injuries, Cachuela said, adding that a motorcycle was damaged when a shed crumbled to the ground. At least four people remained missing in General Santos, a port city of more than 700,00