7.8 Quake Kills 4 in Philippines, Tsunami Warning Issued

An offshore magnitude 7.8 earthquake rocked the southern Philippines early Monday, damaging buildings and a key access bridge in a large southern city and setting off a 1-meter (3-foot) tsunami that washed ashore on nearby coasts. 

At least four people were killed and more than 200 others injured, officials said. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged people to immediately go to higher ground in Philippine areas vulnerable to a tsunami, and Indonesian and Malaysian authorities also issued warnings to



their nearby coastal areas.

he strongest quake to strike the Philippines this year was centered at sea about 13 kilometers (8 miles) southwest of General Santos, a city of more than 700,000 people that is a hub for tuna processing and other commerce in the southern Mindanao region of the archipelago nation. 

The Philippine leader said disaster-response agencies were on standby to respond. “The national government is moving and we will not leave Mindanao behind,” Marcos said.