A deeply felt 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit Mindanao in the Philippines early Friday morning. It brought severe disruption and widespread devastation to the entire area. The earthquake struck at 9:43 AM local time, with its epicenter located in waters off the town of Manay. At a depth of 10 kilometers, the tremor was felt strongly across various areas, prompting immediate emergency responses.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) was fast to respond. They quickly issued an eruption-induced tsunami warning for all coasts within 300 kilometers of the earthquake’s epicenter. Hawaii breathed a sigh of relief when the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did confirm that the tsunami threat was over and there would be no second calamity.
The earthquake caused the horrifying death of at least one person after debris fell. Initial reports suggest multiple buildings were destroyed, forcing the evacuation of impacted neighborhoods, including nearby schools. The Magsaysay Bridge in Butuan City suffered extensive damage, displaying major fissures on its body.
“We are working round the clock to ensure that help reaches everyone who needs it,” stated Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. He reminded that authorities are still in the process of calculating the total damage from the earthquake.
Local residents faced massive power supply disruptions in the days following the quake. Most people ended up on social media, and wouldn’t you know it—so did the news. Christine Sierte, a local office worker, described her ordeal:
“It was very slow at first then it got stronger … That’s the longest time of my life. We weren’t able to walk out of the building immediately because the shaking was so strong.”
She did report that even as ceilings collapsed in some of the offices, no one in her building was hurt.
As recovery efforts continue, officials are still working to rescue those in need and assess the state of public infrastructure across all impacted areas. Our primary concern continues to be the safety and return to normalcy for the residents who dealt with the impact of this powerful TN natural disaster.