A responder prepares to take part in search and rescue operations outside a collapsed building after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in General Santos City on June 9, 2026. A 7.8-magnitude earthquake in the southern Philippines on June 8 killed at least 35 people, according to provincial authorities, after toppling buildings and sparking tsunami warnings across the region. Jam Sta. Rosa, AFP
MANILA — The death toll from the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Mindanao has risen to 37, the Office of Civil Defense said in a DZMM Teleradyo interview on Tuesday morning.
Death toll in Mindanao quake at least 35: disaster agency
Of the total fatalities, four were reported in Region 11, while 33 were recorded in Region 12.
Four people remain missing, while 488 people have been injured.
"Itong apat na ito ay reported by region 12. Wala pa tayong detalye sa apat na nawawala, pero tuloy po ang search and rescue operations para sa mga nawawala," Office of Civil Defense spokesperson Junie Castillo said.
He told state television's Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon that some 8,700 families or 31,700 individuals were still in evacuation centers.
The quake damaged 47 structures and around 2,500 houses.
Six landslide incidents were also recorded in various parts of Mindanao.
"Dun sa mga areas na landslide prone dahil meron pang aftershocks, kasama sila sa inaabisuhan na lumikas muna kasi hindi pa tayo nakakasiguro," Castillo said.
Monday’s offshore quake hit about 24 kilometers west of Sarangani province.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology on Monday said a movement in the Cotabato Trench caused the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Mindanao.
Mindanao quake caused by Cotabato Trench — Phivolcs
The same trench caused the 1976 Moro Gulf earthquake and tsunami that left thousands dead, Phivolcs research specialist Winchelle Sevilla.
Monday's quake triggered evacuation warnings for coastal areas of neighboring Indonesia and Malaysia, with Jakarta's meteorological agency subsequently lifting its alert.
Search and rescue operations are ongoing, as local governments continue to check the damage from the quake.
So far, 19 roads and 9 bridges were reported to have been damaged in Soccsksargen alone. There are also reports of power and water interruption as well as intermittent communication.
Operations at the Gensan International Airport remain limited to government, military, and humanitarian flights.
At the Sarangani Provincial Hospital, patients remain outside the building. Health Secretary Ted Herbosa has arrived in General Santos to inspect the damage to the hospital and other facilities.
Authorities continue to urge the public to remain vigilant due to continuing aftershocks and follow advisories from local disaster risk reduction and management offices.
— With reports from Raphael Bosano and Jervis Manahan, ABS-CBN News
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