A powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Mindanao in the southern Philippines on Sunday, June 7, with the tremor occurring in the early hours of Monday, June 8, local time. The quake triggered tsunami warnings across parts of the region, while authorities said there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences, the earthquake was first estimated at magnitude 8.2 before being revised down to 7.8. The agency said the event occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers. The U.S. Geological Survey, meanwhile, reported that the quake’s epicenter was offshore at a depth of 35 kilometers, reflecting slightly different seismic readings from international agencies.
Following the quake, authorities in the United States and Indonesia expanded tsunami alerts for coastal areas in the Philippines. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center warned that waves could also affect coastlines in Indonesia, Palau, Taiwan and Papua New Guinea within three hours of the earthquake.
Philippine officials urged residents along the southern coast to evacuate immediately. The head of the country’s seismology agency, Phivolcs, said the first tsunami waves were expected between 7:37 a.m. and 9:37 a.m. local time, corresponding to 8:37 p.m. to 10:37 p.m. Brasília time. The agency warned that tsunami waves higher than one meter were possible and could continue for several hours.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called on people in affected coastal areas to move to higher ground without delay. He said residents should follow tsunami warnings and not wait, stressing that lives were more important than belongings left behind. Marcos added that he was in constant communication with regional offices and local authorities in the affected areas.
He also ordered the suspension of classes at all levels in the affected regions of Mindanao until further notice and instructed all government agencies to mobilize in response to the earthquake. Authorities continued to monitor the situation as tsunami warnings remained in place.
The emergency response was still developing as officials assessed the scale of the quake and the risk of aftershocks, waves and potential coastal impacts. No confirmation of casualties or structural damage had been reported at the time of publication, and the situation remained under active review.
