Philippines earthquake: at least 31 dead, dozens injured and missing

Hit A 7.8-magnitude earthquakeon the southern coast of the Philippines on Monday, killing at least 31 people and causing buildings to collapse, according to local authorities, and tsunami warnings issued. "Tsunami" Throughout the region.

National disaster management authorities said that at least 12 people were missing, while 134 people were injured.

The Philippine authorities urged residents of The affected coastal areas had to move to higher areas after the earthquake struck the depths of the sea south of the city of General Santos, which has a population of about 720,000 people, and where at least nine people died.

The region was struck by a series of strong aftershocks about two hours after the first earthquake, the strongest of which reached 6.5 degrees according to the US Geological Survey.

The southern coast of the Philippines

In General City Santos, an Agence France-Presse correspondent on Monday afternoon saw rescuers searching through the rubble of a grocery store chain in a desperate attempt to reach the bodies of two employees buried under the rubble.

The head of disaster management in the stricken Sarangani province, Rene Ponsalatin, said that 14 people died in the municipality of Glan alone when a slide buried their homes at the foot of a mountain.

Videos posted on Facebook showed a shopping mall… It collapsed and turned into rubble in the city of General Santos, while a building collapsed in a local school.

Tsunami warning

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a statement warning of the possibility of high waves along the coasts of the Philippines, Indonesia, Palau, Taiwan and Papua New Guinea. The US Geological Survey said that the earthquake struck at a depth of 35 kilometers off the island of Mindanao.

Sergeant Robert announced that Dagon of the General Santos City Police "A number of buildings collapsed" Including homes.
Also, the Japanese Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning for its coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean, from the northern Okinawa Islands to eastern Tokyo.

Indonesia issued orders to evacuate residents in the northern regions in anticipation of a tsunami wave following the earthquake, but by mid-afternoon the Philippines and other countries had lifted their warnings.

The height of the waves that reached the coast of Japan, located on the Pacific Ocean, did not exceed Authorities issued a tsunami warning, 20 centimetres.

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