Manila [Philippines] / Jakarta [Indonesia], June 9: At least 32 people were killed when a powerful earthquake struck the southern Philippines on Monday, prompting tsunami warnings across parts of the region which were lifted again a few hours later.
The quake struck at 7:37 am (2337 GMT on Sunday) and registered a magnitude of 7.8, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
The tremor's epicentre was located south-west of Maasim town in Sarangani province, on the southern island of Mindanao, Phivolcs said.
Twelve people remain missing and a total of 134 were injured, according to official figures. Seventeen people were killed in Sarangani province, including 13 in a landslide in Glan town, according to Rene Punzalan, a provincial disaster relief officer. Another four people were killed in Malapatan town, he said.
Ten fatalities were reported in General Santos City, which is home to some 70,000 and was particularly affected by the quake, according to civil defence and disaster officials.
Another three people were killed in Davao Occidental province and two in Tupi town in South Cotabato province, according to the national disaster agency.
The tremor was also felt in parts of Indonesia, particularly on the island of Sulawesi, where a tsunami warning was also issued. Japan likewise warned parts of its Pacific coastline of possible waves.
The US Geological Survey (USGS), which had initially put the quake's magnitude at 8.2, but later also revised it down to 7.8, lifted its tsunami warning later on Monday.
Source: Qatar Tribune
