A 7.8-magnitude earthquake in the southern Philippines on Monday killed at least 32 people, according to provincial authorities, after toppling buildings and sparking tsunami warnings across the region.
National disaster authorities said at least a dozen people were still missing, while 134 had sustained injuries.
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 720,000, where at least nine were killed.
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 magnitude.
In General Santos, an AFP journalist watched Monday afternoon as rescue workers dug through the rubble of a popular grocery store chain in a desperate bid to reach the bodies of two employees buried beneath.
Rene Punzalan, disaster chief for hard-hit Sarangani province, told AFP 14 people had died in Glan municipality alone when a landslide buried their homes at the foot of a mountain.
“The landslide happened immediately after the earthquake, so many lives were lost,” he said, adding that some areas had yet to report if they had sustained casualties.
“The greatest challenge is communication. The power was cut, so it’s hard to get updates,” Punzalan said.
“We’re worried about aftershocks,” he added. “We can feel the fear of the residents.” Videos posted to social media and verified by AFP showed a shopping centre with a Jollibee fast food restaurant reduced to rubble in General Santos City, while a school building that officials said was unoccupied crumpled in another.
“Lord, it has really collapsed! … The building has really collapsed!” someone can be heard shouting as the abandoned school structure topples.
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.
A flimsy metal structure in the background collapsed as the video uploaded to the school’s official Facebook page came to an end. An accompanying caption said no one was under the structure when it fell.
Punzalan, the Sarangani disaster chief, told AFP that more than 2,000 people evacuated due to a morning tsunami warning were now awaiting a green light to return to their homes. “(Authorities) are still assessing the situation now if it will be OK to send them home,” he said.
A notice from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center had said tsunami waves were possible along the coasts of the Philippines, Indonesia, Palau, Taiwan and Papua New Guinea.