Bangkok: The death toll from a major earthquake off the southern coast of the Philippines has risen to at least 35, with more than 400 injured. Reports of further earthquakes in Iran and Cuba have also surfaced.
According to Thai News Agency, recent drone images reveal extensive damage to dozens of buildings that collapsed in General Santos City, a town of over 700,000 inhabitants on Mindanao Island in southern Philippines, following yesterday's 7.8 magnitude earthquake, the strongest in the Philippines in 36 years. The latest death toll has risen to at least 35, mostly from debris and landslides. A large landslide in the mountainous area of Glan Town, Sarangani Province, killed 14 people, and over 400 have been injured. At least 12 people remain missing. More than 200 aftershocks followed the earthquake. A tsunami warning was lifted about six hours after the earthquake, although small tsunamis were reported in three countries: the Philippines, Indonesia, and Japan, reaching a height of 1.48 meters in Sarangani Province, Philippines, but not strong enough to cause significant damage.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the immediate suspension of classes across Mindanao and dispatched disaster relief teams to the area. He declared that the federal government was working urgently to assist victims and search for those missing under the rubble, vowing not to leave Mindanao behind. Meanwhile, international organizations such as UNICEF and the World Food Programme (WFP), along with the Philippine Red Cross, sent personnel and distributed relief supplies, including survival kits and emergency funding, to the affected areas.
Yesterday's earthquake coincided with the first day of the new school term for public schools across the country, causing widespread panic among students and teachers who were attending flag-raising ceremonies at various schools. Fortunately, there were no reports of student fatalities, only minor injuries and widespread shock. The Philippine Department of Education reported that 8,642 schools in six regions were affected, with many school buildings sustaining damage.
Meanwhile, two other earthquakes were reported: a 6.1 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cuba, initially causing no damage and no tsunami warning, with only buildings in Havana shaking; and a 5.0 magnitude earthquake in the Hormozgan and Kerman provinces of southern Iran this morning local time, also with no reports of injuries or damage.