By Kathleen Magramo

(CNN) — An earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck the Mindanao region in the southern Philippines on Monday, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), killing more than a dozen people and triggering scenes of panic as buildings collapsed to the ground and emergency sirens blared in parts of the archipelago.

The quake struck around 07:37 a.m. local time at a depth of about 35 kilometers (21.7 miles), the USGS said, adding that the tremors were “notable.”

At least 19 people were killed and over 200 others injured in the aftermath, the Associated Press reported, citing the Office of Civil Defense spokesperson Junie Castillo. Thirteen people were killed in a landslide set off by the earthquake in Sarangani province, according to disaster authorities.

The Philippines, Indonesia and Japan are situated in the so-called Ring of Fire, an arc of fault lines circling the Pacific Basin that is prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Just last year, the deadliest quake to hit the Philippines in more than a decade ripped through the nation, killing at least 74 people on the central island of Cebu.

The quake on Monday hit off the shores near General Santos City in Sarangani province, the southernmost tip of the Mindanao island, the country’s seismology agency, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.

As many as 138 aftershocks occurred after the initial earthquake, according to the seismology agency. Authorities warned of more aftershocks near the epicenter of the quake.

Photos from the local information office in General Santos City, which is where about 720,000 people reside, showed convenience stores crumbling and sheets of concrete layered on top of each other.

Terrified students crawl for cover

Social media video showed dozens of terrified elementary schoolchildren crouching down outdoors as the ground beneath them swayed violently in the province of Davao Occidental, after the quake hit when public schools started the new academic year.

Other footage showed a high school campus roof which had fallen while pupils lined up outside the school’s sports field in Davao Del Sur. No injuries were reported in both incidents.

One academic official in General Santos City recalled trying to find cover under a table in a university building. “I had to duck and shelter myself under the table,” the president of Notre Dame of Dadiangas University told Reuters.

Within Davao City, more than 100 students attending morning flag-raising ceremonies sustained bruises and others fainted in panic, a regional emergency official, Ednar Dayanghurang, told the Associated Press.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he has “directed all relevant government agencies to act immediately” to evacuate residents and start rescue work.

“To our kababayans (countrymen) 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,” he said in a statement.

Benjie Ancheta, police chief of Alabel town in Sarangani in the Philippines, told Reuters that the police building had some cracks immediately after the quake, which occurred during their flag-raising ceremony.

Ancheta said there were no immediate reports of casualties, but some people fainted following the strong tremor. “This is the strongest earthquake we’ve experienced,” Ancheta told Reuters by phone.

The quake triggered tsunami warnings in the wider region with smaller waves were recorded in Indonesia, Palau and southern Japan, the Associated Press said. No tsunami threat has been detected in Hawaii, according to the National Weather Service.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the threat had largely passed about five hours after the quake struck, but it still urged people to stay alert and to heed warnings from local authorities as sea levels may fluctuate.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

The-CNN-Wire
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