Philippines Earthquake Death Toll Climbs to 37
The 7.8-magnitude tremor struck at 7:37 a.m. local time Monday, originating off the coast of Sarangani province. The violent shaking brought down buildings, severed power and water supplies, and set off landslides across wide stretches of Mindanao, according to Philstar.
Office of Civil Defense (OCD) deputy spokesperson Diego Mariano confirmed that 33 fatalities were concentrated in the Soccsksargen region — 18 in Sarangani province, 12 in General Santos City, and three in South Cotabato — while four more deaths were recorded in the adjacent Davao Region.
OCD spokesperson Junie Castillo noted that collapsing structures bore the heaviest responsibility for lives lost. "Most of the victims were killed by falling debris as buildings and structures collapsed during the quake," Castillo said.
Injury figures stood at a minimum of 479, with 456 cases logged in Region 12 and 23 more in the Davao Region.
Across southern Mindanao, an estimated 88,000 people were affected, including 22,690 forced from their homes. Officials warned that many displaced residents were refusing to return indoors, citing relentless aftershocks and deep uncertainty over the structural integrity of damaged buildings.
Active search, rescue, and retrieval missions remain focused on General Santos City and Sarangani — two of the zones bearing the worst of the destruction.
Infrastructure damage was extensive: nine bridges and 19 roads sustained damage, with repair costs estimated at over 900 million pesos (approximately $14.6 million). Housing losses were severe, with 1,889 homes damaged — roughly 1,500 of which were completely levelled. Property damage has been preliminarily assessed at 15 million pesos ($243,607), though officials cautioned that figures remain subject to revision as evaluations continue.
The OCD announced plans to establish a tent city to house residents unable to safely return home due to structural hazards and persistent safety concerns.
The Department of Education reported considerable harm to the school system, with an early damage survey identifying 1,159 classrooms across 231 public schools in five regions as compromised.
In the immediate aftermath of the quake, the US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center cautioned that wave heights exceeding three metres (10 feet) above normal tidal levels were possible along certain coastlines. The warning was subsequently lifted by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) after observed wave heights were assessed as too minimal to pose a danger. As a precaution, authorities in both the Philippines and Indonesia had earlier directed coastal residents in at-risk areas to move to higher ground.
Compounding the crisis, a 6.1-magnitude aftershock struck approximately two hours after the initial earthquake, followed by a 5.1-magnitude tremor on Tuesday, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). Both events heightened fears of further structural damage and continued to obstruct ongoing rescue efforts.
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