Strong earthquake strikes southern Philippines with tsunami warnings issued

Police gather in front of a collapsed Jollibee fast food restaurant after an 7.8 magnitude earthquake in General Santos City, Philippines, on 8 June 2026. Photograph: Edwin Espejo/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Police gather in front of a collapsed Jollibee fast food restaurant after an 7.8 magnitude earthquake in General Santos City, Philippines, on 8 June 2026. Photograph: Edwin Espejo/AFP/Getty Images Strong earthquake strikes southern Philippines with tsunami warnings issued People told to prepare for waves of up to three metres in parts of the Philippines, with smaller waves possible in Indonesia and Malaysia A magnitude 7.8 earthquake shook part of the southern Philippines early on Monday, sparking tsunami warnings on some regional coasts, collapsing buildings and killing at least three people. “Many buildings were affected, but I cannot enumerate them now because we are busy with ongoing rescues,” Master Sergeant Robert Dagon of the General Santos City police told Agence France-Presse. The Philippines office of civil defense warned people to avoid entering damaged homes or other infrastructure due to the threat of aftershocks. At least three people have been killed and four injured, police in the region said on Monday afternoon, local time. Video verified by the Guardian shows the collapse of the upper floor of a Jollibee restaurant, a popular fast food chain, as well as the outer concrete walls of a commercial complex giving way in General Santos City, near the epicentre of the quake. In Davao del Sur, part of a high school collapsed as students gathered outside, a video shared by local radio network Bombo Radyo showed. Images of a convenience store in General Santos city showed its entrance destroyed with smashed glass and overturned benches strewn across the street outside. Power outages were reported and people were urged to go to higher ground. No further information on casualties was immediately available from the office of civil defence. The epicentre was 13km (8 miles) south-west of General Santos city on the island of Mindanao and had a depth of 10km (6.2 miles), according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology in its initial report. It struck at 7.37am. The US Geological Survey (USGS) put the magnitude at 7.8 and the depth at 55.2km (34 miles). The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said tsunami waves up to 3 metres (10ft) were possible on some coasts of the Philippines. Waves up to 1 metre (3ft) were possible on some coasts of Indonesia and Malaysia. “We advise people to evacuate to higher grounds or go further inland,” Teresito Bacolcol, the head of the Philippine institute, warned people living in coastal areas. View image in fullscreen Vehicles damaged by debris after a powerful earthquake hit the Mindanao region in the Philippines on Monday. Photograph: Ernesto Torres Jr/AP In a statement, Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos Jr asked people to heed the warnings, saying: “do not wait. Your life is