JAKARTA - Philippine authorities ordered coastal residents in Mindanao to move to higher ground on June 8 after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off southern Mindanao and triggered tsunami warnings across several coastal provinces, according to the Presidential Communications Office statement.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology recorded the quake at 7:37 a.m. and listed it as Mw 7.8. Its bulletin said damage and aftershocks were expected, with Intensity VII reported in General Santos City and Intensity V reported in parts of Sarangani, South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the Office of Civil Defense and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council were coordinating response and monitoring across affected areas. Marcos also ordered the suspension of classes at all levels in affected areas of Mindanao until further notice
“To our kababayans in the affected provinces, please heed the tsunami warning. Move to higher ground now. Do not wait. Your life is more important than anything left behind,” Marcos said in the June 8 statement.
The quake also prompted alerts outside the Philippines. Indonesia’s state news agency Antara, citing BMKG, reported that BMKG measured the event at magnitude 7.7, with an epicenter offshore at 5.80° N and 125.14° E, about 244 kilometers northwest of Karatung Island in North Sulawesi, at a depth of 47 kilometers.
“The national government is moving and we will not leave Mindanao behind. I am in constant communication with our regional offices and local chief executives on the ground,” President Marcos added.
AP reported at least four deaths and more than 200 injuries after the quake, citing Philippine officials. The Office of Civil Defense told AP that three people were killed and 130 others injured in General Santos. AP also reported that General Santos International Airport was temporarily shut and 17 domestic flights were canceled, and that debris from buildings damaged vehicles below.
There were no immediate official reports identifying the nationalities of the dead or injured at the time of the publication. Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry said it had not received information that any Indonesian citizens or migrant workers were directly affected.
