The Great Mindanao earthquake displaced about 20,000 people

Rescuers continued their search for damaged and collapsed buildings in General Santos City and the surrounding area on Tuesday, a day after the strongest earthquake to hit the Philippines this year killed 37 people and displaced about 20,000.

The Civil Defense Office said only four people were still considered missing according to official records in Southern Mindanao province, but added that many collapsed and severely damaged buildings still needed comprehensive searches for survivors or potential victims.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sent senior defense mitigation officials from Manila to help supervise search and rescue operations. They were also tasked with helping distribute food and construction materials to earthquake victims and assessing damage to bridges, roads and other infrastructure.

Rescuers worked through the night at some locations, including a partially collapsed shopping mall in General Santos City. Photo: Daniel Singh/Anadolu/Image Alliance What happened during the earthquake?

On Tuesday, authorities raised the confirmed death toll to 37, saying nearly 500 people had been injured. More than 20,000 people were displaced, at least temporarily, most of them fleeing to emergency shelters.

Monday’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake briefly triggered a tsunami warning, forcing many people to leave their coastal homes, although only small waves as high as 1.4 meters (4.6 feet) above tide level eventually reached the shore.

Smaller waves were recorded as far away as Indonesia, Palau and southern Japan.

The epicenter of the earthquake was off the southern coast of Mindanao, the country’s second most populous island, near the port of General Santos City.

Where were deaths recorded?

In General Santos, a coastal city of about 700,000 people known as the tuna capital of the Philippines, at least 13 people were killed in collapsed buildings or as a result of falling debris.

A little further south, even near the epicenter in the mountainside town of Glan, a landslide buried several homes. Rafaelito Alejandro of the Civil Defense Office said that most of the 18 people killed in Sarangani province died as a result of this landslide.

Other deaths were reported in South Cotabato and South Davao Occidental provinces, as well as on Balut Island off the southeastern coast of Mindanao, officials said.

The country’s Institute of Seismology and Volcanology said hundreds of aftershocks continued to shake the region after the main quake. What is the damage to the buildings?

Initial assessments issued by the government found that about 2,000 homes and 117 government buildings and facilities were damaged in several governorates.

General Santos International Airport remained closed, resulting in the cancellation of 63 domestic flights, except for those carrying humanitarian aid.

The earthquake occurred on the first day of returning to school after two months of summer vacation. Many of the wounded were young students.

Authorities said about 6,000 public school buildings need to be inspected before they can reopen, because buildings exposed to cracks may be at risk from aftershocks.

“We cannot force the reopening of schools immediately because we have to ensure the safety of the buildings,” Alejandro said.

The US Geological Survey on Tuesday tracked more than a dozen aftershocks in the area of ​​Monday’s quake, many of which had a magnitude higher than 5 on their own. These disasters were more frequent and larger in the immediate aftermath of Monday’s earthquake.

This fast food restaurant in General Santos has completely collapsed. Photo: Daniel Singh/Anadolu/Image Alliance How vulnerable is the area to earthquakes?

The Philippines is frequently exposed to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the ocean.

Monday’s quake was the largest ever recorded in 50 years, according to Teresito Paculcol, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

Movement in the same undersea Cotabato Trench caused an 8.1 magnitude earthquake on August 17, 1976. About 8,000 people died, many in much larger tsunami waves up to 8 or 10 meters high that swept through many coastal towns.

The 1990 7.8-magnitude earthquake also killed more than 1,000 people, injured thousands, and caused extensive damage in northern provinces and cities.

With earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and tropical storms common, disaster rescues are often required in the Philippines. Photo: Basilio Sepe/AP Photo/picture Alliance

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Edited by: Shawn Sinico

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