Major 7.8 magnitude earthquake off Philippines kills three, triggers tsunami warnings

New Delhi ( Raghwendra Pratap Singh ) : A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the southern Philippines on Monday (June 8, 2026), killing at least three people, collapsing buildings and sparking tsunami warnings across the region.

Philippine authorities urged people in affected coastal regions to move to higher ground after the offshore quake hit south of General Santos, a city of about 7,20,000.

A series of powerful aftershocks rocked the area from about two hours after the first quake, according to the United States Geological Survey, with the largest measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a notice that tsunami waves were possible “within the next three hours” along the coasts of the Philippines, Indonesia, Palau, Taiwan and Papua New Guinea.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos suspended classes in affected areas of Mindanao island on what was to have been the first day of school, while calling on residents in coastal areas to evacuate immediately.

Monday’s (June 8, 2026) quake triggered evacuation warnings for coastal areas of neighbouring Indonesia and Malaysia, with Jakarta’s meteorological agency subsequently lifting its alert.

Japanese authorities issued a tsunami advisory for swathes of its Pacific coast, projecting waves of up to one metre (three feet) to hit different regions from 11.30 a.m. local time (0230 GMT).

Earthquakes are a near-daily occurrence in the Philippines, which is situated on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of intense seismic activity stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

Eastern Mindanao was rocked by a pair of earthquakes of 7.4 and 6.7 magnitude in October that killed at least eight people. These followed a magnitude 6.9 quake days earlier that killed 76 people and destroyed or damaged 72,000 buildings in Cebu province in central Philippines, according to government figures.