Earthquake Of Magnitude 7.8 Jolts Southern Philippines; Tsunami Warning Issued In Japan, Indonesia

Last Updated:June 08, 2026, 07:00 IST

An earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck the Mindanao region in the southern Philippines on Monday, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Philippines Earthquake: A powerful earthwuake of maginitude 7.8 struck off the coast of Mindanao in the southern Philippines on Monday, prompting tsunami warnings in the Philippines and neighboring Japan and Indonesia.

The epicenter was 13 km (8 miles) southwest of General Santos city on the island of Mindanao and had a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles), according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, news agency AP reported.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the quake hit at around 7:37 am local time at a depth of about 35 km, CNN reported. Earlier today, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GRCG) also measured the earthquake at magnitude 7.8, revising an earlier estimate of 8.2, and said it occurred at a shallow depth of around 10 kilometres.

The US Tsunami ​Warning System issued a tsunami threat for the earthquake. Meanwhile, Phivolcs, the ​Philippine agency, said the quake was magnitude 7.0 and warned of damage and tsunami waves above one metre (yard), which could continue for several ​hours.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said tsunami waves up to 3 meters (10 feet) were possible on some coasts of the Philippines. Waves up to 1 meter (3 feet) were possible on some coasts of Indonesia and Malaysia.

“We advise people to evacuate to higher grounds or go further inland," Teresito Bacolcol, the head of the Philippine institute, warned people living in coastal areas.

Following the tremor, authorities in the Philippines and Indonesia issued tsunami alerts for coastal areas. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) urged residents living along the coast to evacuate, warning that tsunami waves of more than one metre could reach affected areas and continue for several hours.

Indonesia’s BMKG reported the quake at magnitude 7.7. Benjie ​Ancheta, police chief of Alabel town in Sarangani, Philippines, noted that the police building had cracks immediately after the quake, which occurred during their flag-raising ceremony in the area.

Smaller tsunami waves were possible in Taiwan, Japan, Guam, Papua New Guinea and several island nations and territories in the western Pacific.

Residents felt the earthquake tremors in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi and North Maluku provinces.

Benjie Ancheta, police chief of Alabel town in Sarangani in the Philippines, told news agency Reuters that the police building had some cracks immediately after the quake, which occurred during their flag-raising ceremony.

Ancheta said there were no immediate reports of casualties, but some people fainted following the strong tremor.

“This is the strongest earthquake we’ve experienced," Ancheta told Reuters by phone.

Indonesia has also issued a tsunami warning for its northeastern coast, Reuters reported.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Shobhit Gupta

Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degre...Read More

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