At least seven people were killed on Friday after two powerful earthquakes struck off the southern Philippines, triggering tsunami warnings and widespread panic across Mindanao.
The first quake, measuring magnitude 7.4, hit about 20 kilometers off Manay town in Davao Oriental just before 10 a.m. local time, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). A second, strong aftershock of magnitude 6.7 followed nearly ten hours later, among hundreds of smaller tremors that shook the region.
The twin quakes came just 11 days after a 6.9-magnitude earthquake devastated Cebu province, killing 75 people and injuring over 1,200.
In Friday’s disaster, three miners died after a tunnel collapsed in the mountains west of Manay, rescue official Kent Simeon said. Another person died when a wall crumbled in Mati City, while two others suffered fatal heart attacks during the tremors. In Davao City, one person was killed by falling debris, police reported.
Authorities issued tsunami warnings following both quakes, ordering residents along the eastern coastline to evacuate to higher ground. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center later lifted its alert for the Philippines, Palau, and Indonesia.
Witnesses described scenes of chaos as people fled buildings and open spaces. “They screamed and ran,” said Wes Caasi, a government official in Tagum City. In the same city, workers decorating a Christmas tree scrambled for safety as the ground shook violently.
Davao Oriental Governor Nelson Dayanghirang confirmed reports of cracked bridges, damaged hospitals, and minor landslides. More than 200 patients were evacuated from Manay District Hospital after its foundation developed cracks.
Earthquakes are frequent in the Philippines, which lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a region known for intense seismic activity. The country’s deadliest earthquake occurred in 1976, when an 8.0-magnitude quake off Mindanao triggered a tsunami that killed or left 8,000 people missing.
