Philippines Earthquake Kills 31, Leaves 12 Missing

Manila. Provincial officials said at least 31 people were killed in a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the southern Philippines on Monday. According to national disaster officials, at least a dozen people are still missing and 134 have been injured.

Philippine officials urged people in the affected coastal areas to move to higher ground after the earthquake, which struck south of General Santos, a city of about 720,000 people, killed at least nine people.

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), a powerful 6.5 magnitude aftershock struck about two hours after the earthquake.

A journalist for AFP in General Santos said on Monday afternoon that rescuers were trying to retrieve the bodies of two employees believed to have been buried in the rubble when a popular grocery store, which was crowded with customers, collapsed.

According to Rene Punzalan, head of disaster in the heavily affected Sarangani province, 14 people died in Glan municipality alone when landslides buried houses at the foot of the mountain.

"Landslides occurred immediately after the earthquake, and many lives have been lost," he said, "Details of casualties in some areas are yet to come."

"The biggest challenge is communication. The power is out, so it is difficult to get further updates from the incident," Punzalan said.

"We are concerned about further damage from aftershocks," he added, "We can feel the residents waiting for help amidst the fear."

A video posted on social media and verified by AFP shows a shopping center in General Santos City, which housed a Jollibee fast food restaurant, turned into rubble, and a school building collapsed onto another building.

Another video obtained by AFP shows small schoolchildren screaming in their teachers' laps as the earthquake shook them back and forth.

At the end of the video uploaded to the school's official Facebook page, a weak metal structure collapsed in the background of the school grounds, but it was reported that no one was caught in it.

Sarangani disaster chief Punzalan told AFP that more than two thousand people had been evacuated to safe places due to the morning tsunami warning and were waiting for instructions to return home.

"Officials are still assessing the situation to see if it is safe for them to return home," he said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a notice stating that tsunami waves were likely to hit coastal areas of the Philippines, Indonesia, Palau, Taiwan, and Papua New Guinea.