Philippines quake death toll rises to 37 as rescuers search collapsed building

Rescue teams in the southern Philippines are searching for survivors after a powerful offshore earthquake killed at least 37 people and injured about 400. The magnitude 7.8 quake struck off Sarangani province shortly before 7:40am local time on Monday, with the hardest-hit area reported in General Santos on Mindanao. In the city, rescuers were still working through the rubble of a collapsed commercial building that housed a grocery store, where two people were believed to remain trapped.

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Officials said two survivors had been pulled from the debris, while a third person was found dead at the site. Scanners had not detected any signs of life from those still missing, according to the report. The quake was followed by a series of strong aftershocks over the next two hours, the largest measuring magnitude 6.5, according to the United States Geological Survey.

Tsunami warnings were issued across several countries after the offshore tremor. General Santos, a coastal city of about 720,000 people, bore much of the destruction. At least 13 people were killed there in collapsed buildings and by falling debris, and the city was placed under a state of calamity.

Streets were strewn with debris and power lines were downed, while rescue work was slowed by fears of further aftershocks. In Sarangani province, at least 18 people died, mostly in a landslide that buried houses in the mountainside town of Glan. The scale of the damage matters because the quake hit a densely populated part of Mindanao and disrupted both urban and rural areas at the same time.

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General Santos is a major city in the south, while parts of Sarangani remained accessible only by helicopter, complicating the delivery of aid and the search for survivors. The combination of collapsed buildings, landslides and aftershocks has made the response more difficult and raised the risk for rescue teams. The quake was felt as far away as Manado on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, about 420km from the epicentre, underlining the regional reach of the event.

The offshore location, about 20km off the coast of Sarangani province, also helps explain why tsunami warnings were issued beyond the Philippines. The incident adds to the long-running challenge of disaster response in a country exposed to earthquakes, landslides and coastal hazards. What remains unclear is how many people are still trapped or missing, and whether the death toll will rise further as rescuers reach more isolated areas.

Authorities are continuing search operations in General Santos and Sarangani, while monitoring aftershocks that could affect the safety of crews and residents. The next developments to watch are the condition of the collapsed building in General Santos, access to remote parts of Sarangani and any further official updates on casualties and damage.

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