Strong Quake Strikes South Philippines; Tsunami Waves Possible

Published 8 June 2026 · india

(Bloomberg) -- A strong earthquake struck the southern Philippine island of Mindanao on Monday, triggering tsunami warnings, damaging buildings and prompting evacuations on the first

(Bloomberg) -- A strong earthquake struck the southern Philippine island of Mindanao on Monday, triggering tsunami warnings, damaging buildings and prompting evacuations on the first day of school. The USGS estimated it at 7.8 in magnitude, as did the Philippines. The quake had a magnitude of 8.1 and was at a depth of 10 kilometers, according to the GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences. Hazardous tsunami waves are possible within three hours along some coasts of Indonesia, Philippines, Palau, Taiwan and Papua New Guinea, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a 7:51 a.m. Manila time alert. “Move to higher ground now.

Do not wait. Your life is more important than anything left behind,” Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in a statement. He ordered relevant government agencies to act immediately, and suspended classes across affected areas in Mindanao until further notice. Indonesia issued tsunami warnings for some areas including Kalimantan on the island of Borneo, as well as stretches of Sulawesi island, cautioning of waves of up to three meters high, according to a tweet from the national weather agency. The extent of damage from the earthquake remains unclear. A portion of a building in the southern city of General Santos collapsed, according to local radio DZRH.

Students evacuated on the first day of school, and a hospital took patients out beside the street. “We have coordinated with our municipalities in coastal communities to do emergency evacuation,” Rene Punzalan, head of Sarangani’s provincial disaster office, told DZBB radio station. “There’s no electricity and phone signal is intermittent.” He described the earthquake as strong. “Like being rocked in a cradle,” he said. Van Ruiz, a staffer at a beach resort in Sarangani Bay, said by phone that all their guests are being checked out and that the hotel building has suffered some damage. Government work in several areas including in Davao City have been suspended, according to media reports.

Flights to General Santos City have been suspended, according to DZMM radio. “I couldn’t even stand, it was so strong. Everything in my house fell down,” Tomas Alon, resident of General Santos City, told DZBB. “It probably took me one minute before I got down from the second floor.” With assistance from Mary Hui, Ditas B Lopez, Manolo Serapio Jr., Zoe Ma and Cliff Venzon. (Adds more magnitude estimates, quote from president, details of damage throughout.) More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com