Jamaine Punzalan

Responders and a rescue dog conduct search and rescue operations at the site of a collapsed building after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in General Santos City on June 9, 2026. Jam Sta Rosa, AFP

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1780986179407AFP__20260609__B6FB4W7__v1__MidRes__PhilippinesEarthquake.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Responders and a rescue dog conduct search and rescue operations at the site of a collapsed building after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in General Santos City on June 9, 2026. Jam Sta Rosa, AFP </span></span></span></div><p>Doctors treated patients in tents set up under a scorching Philippine sun on Tuesday -- including helping a young mother give birth -- as the death toll from a major earthquake that collapsed buildings and sparked tsunami warnings topped 40.</p><p>Thousands remained displaced and more than 450 injured following the magnitude-7.8 quake that struck off the southern island of Mindanao on Monday, according to national and local disaster agencies, though only four people were now believed missing.</p><p>In hardest-hit Sarangani province, some areas remain accessible only by helicopter and fears of aftershocks were slowing rescue efforts, local officials told reporters at a Tuesday briefing.</p><p>&quot;There are still aftershocks, so the rescuers are very cautious in their approach. That&#x27;s a challenge,&quot; said regional civil defence chief Rodrigo Sosmena.</p><p>A series of powerful aftershocks rocked the area from about two hours after the first quake, while hundreds of tiny quakes followed.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2026/6/8/phivolcs-aftershocks-of-sarangani-quake-may-last-a-month-1530">Phivolcs: Aftershocks of Sarangani quake may last a month </a></div><p>Infrastructure damage, meanwhile, means some communities will be cut off for at least a week because of the damage to roads and the collapse of a bridge.</p><p>At a hospital just outside General Santos, the region&#x27;s largest city, AFP reporters heard cries of &quot;push&quot; then an infant&#x27;s cries as a mother gave birth outdoors behind a makeshift screen.</p><p>In Glan municipality, where at least 13 people were buried in their homes by a landslide, staff at another hospital told AFP more than 60 patients were on beds outside the facility due to fears for the building&#x27;s structural integrity.</p><p>&quot;The hospital sustained a lot of damage,&quot; she said. &quot;The municipal engineer decided we could not use the building.&quot;</p><p>As of Tuesday morning, the death toll from provincial sources contacted by AFP stood at 41.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2026/6/9/drone-footage-shows-destruction-in-southern-philippines-after-7-8-quake-1139">DRONE VIDEO: Destruction in Mindanao after 7.8 quake </a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RECOVERY</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Outside a collapsed grocery store in General Santos, rescuers resumed efforts after an overnight break to recover two store employees who were inside when the building crumpled.</p><p>AFP journalists watched as rescue dogs and their handlers scoured the pile of broken concrete and jagged metal bars.</p><p>A local rescuer told reporters the effort was now one of recovery rather than rescue, though a more senior official later insisted that decision had yet to be formally made.</p><p>At a nearby beach resort, a high-speed Coast Guard vessel plied the waters for two people who went missing while swimming in waters that churned violently as the quake struck.</p><p>Videos posted to social media and verified by AFP on Monday showed the catastrophic collapse of a shopping center with a Jollibee fast food restaurant in General Santos, while an unoccupied school building crumpled in another. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/6/8/jollibee-says-all-gensan-employees-safe-1953">Jollibee says all Gensan employees safe </a></div><p>In another video verified by AFP, young schoolchildren could be seen screaming in the arms of their teachers as the quake violently swayed them back and forth on the ground.</p><p>A flimsy metal structure could be seen toppling in the background as the video uploaded to the school&#x27;s official Facebook page ends. An accompanying caption said no one was under the structure when it fell.</p><p>The earthquake saw thousands ordered to evacuate in coastal areas of the southern Philippines and neighboring Indonesia as tsunami warnings were issued by multiple countries and a regional tsunami warning center.</p><p>But by midday, the threat had passed and the alerts were canceled.</p><p>Waves that did reach the Pacific coast of Japan, where authorities had issued a tsunami advisory, were reported to be no higher than 20 centimeters (about eight inches).</p><p>Eastern Mindanao was rocked by a pair of earthquakes of 7.4 and 6.7 magnitude in October that killed at least eight people.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/6/9/list-flights-affected-by-mindanao-quake-1134">Commercial flights at GenSan Airport expected to resume after a week - DOTr </a><br/><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/6/8/most-telco-infra-in-mindanao-intact-and-functioning-after-strong-quake-dict-1419">Most telco infra in Mindanao intact and functioning after strong quake—DICT </a><br/><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/celebrities/2026/6/9/local-global-celebs-express-sympathy-for-mindanao-earthquake-victims-1148">Local, global celebs express sympathy for Mindanao earthquake victims </a></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5IcRclZBk6o?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rsNufJFQmms?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MAKkIr29f-U?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Doctors treated patients in tents set up under a scorching Philippine sun on Tuesday -- including helping a young mother give birth -- as the death toll from a major earthquake that collapsed buildings and sparked tsunami warnings topped 40.</p>

Doctors treated patients in tents set up under a scorching Philippine sun on Tuesday -- including helping a young mother give birth -- as the death toll from a major earthquake that collapsed buildings and sparked tsunami warnings topped 40.

Outdoor hospitals, cut-off communities as Mindanao quake toll hits 41

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Outdoor hospitals, cut-off communities as Mindanao quake toll hits 41

Agence France-Presse,

Pam Castro and Ferdinandh Cabrera

Published June 09, 2026 02:28 PM PHT

Read More:

quake

earthquake

lindol

Mindanao quake

Sarangani

General Santos

Davao

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