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CatastrophePhilippines

Philippines issues tsunami warning after 7.8 earthquake

Zac Crellin with AP, AFP, Reuters
June 8, 2026

The Philippines and Indonesia both issued tsunami warnings after a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck off Mindanao. At least one person was killed by collapsing buildings in the Philippines.

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Police gather in front of a collapsed Jollibee fast food restaurant after an 7.8 magnitude earthquake in General Santos City on June 8, 2026. A 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the southern Philippines on June 8 killed at least one person and collapsed buildings, police said, as the disaster sparked tsunami warnings across the region
The powerful earthquake caused substantial damage on the Philippine island of Mindanao and killed at least 1 personImage: Edwin Espejo/AFP

Tsunami warnings were issued after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Mindanao, the Philippines, on Monday morning.

The seismological agencies of the Philippines and Indonesia have issued tsunami warnings, while the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued an alert also for Palau, Taiwan and Papua New Guinea.

"We advise people to evacuate to higher grounds or go further inland," said Teresito Bacolcol, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

Phivolcs warned that tsunami waves above one meter (yard) could ‌continue ​for several hours, while aftershocks could also be felt in the region.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ‌said authorities were moving fast to coordinate disaster response.

"The national government is moving and we will not ‌leave Mindanao ​behind," Marcos said in a statement.

People walk as they evacuate to the highlands after Indonesia’s geophysics agency issued a tsunami warning following an earthquake in Tahuna, Sangihe Islands regency, North Sulawesi province, Indonesia
Residents in coastal areas of Indonesia (pictured) and the Philippines have been urged to evacuate to higher groundImage: Stenly Pontolawokang/REUTERS

The Philippines lies on the edge of the Pacific's so-called 'Ring of Fire' — an arc of seismic faults that makes the country unusually prone to volcanos, earthquakes and tsunamis.

At least 1 killed, several injured in earthquake

Police on Mindanao reported that at least one person was killed and several others were injured by the earthquake as reports of damage began to emerge.

"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 the AFP news agency.

"A number of buildings collapsed. Some houses also collapsed."

Vehicles and buildings damaged by debris after powerful earthquake in the Mindanao region, Philippines
The earthquake damaged buildings in the south of the PhilippinesImage: Ernesto Torres Jr/AP Photo/picture alliance

The quake struck 24.7 kilometers (15.3 miles) west-southwest of the Philippine town of Burias at a depth of 35 kilometers (22 miles), according to the US Geological Survey.

Edited by: Rana Taha

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