Devastating earthquake hits Philippines , kills victims and tsunami warnings
A devastating earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck the southern coast of the Philippines on Monday morning, killing at least 15 people and injuring more than 100 others.
Medical authorities in the Philippines and civil defense offices announced that 15 people were killed in the "Soksargan" area of the island of Mindanao, while three people died in the "Davao Occidental province", amid ongoing fears that the number of victims will rise as search and rescue operations continue.
Physical Damage
The coastal city of General Santos, home to about 722,000 people, saw the most devastation from the quake, which was rated 7 out of 10 on the local Philippine scale.
The videos showed entire residential and commercial buildings collapsing and rubble scattered in the streets, while St. Elizabeth's Hospital suffered extensive damage that prompted the urgent evacuation of patients and medical staff and the provision of first aid in the facility's outdoor courtyards.
Regional Warnings
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a statement warning of waves between one and three meters high along the coast of the Philippines, and lower waves toward the coasts of Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Papua New Guinea.
The Japan Meteorological Agency also issued similar warnings for the southern coastal strip from Okinawa to east of Tokyo, asking beachgoers to immediately get out of the water and stay away from the coasts due to the expected strength of sea currents.
Presidential Response
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued an urgent appeal to citizens in the affected provinces to adhere to evacuation instructions and immediately head to the high-altitude areas without waiting.
The president issued immediate directives to activate all emergency response agencies and the Civil Defense Office, coinciding with his decision to close all schools in nine coastal districts, which led to the postponement of the start of the new school year for some 3.2 million students.
Reduced risk
Monitoring stations off Indonesia's northern Sulawesi province recorded 0.83 meters high, 50 centimeters high tidal waves off the Philippine city of Davao.
The U.S. Warning Center later announced that the threat of devastating tsunamis had passed and restrictions had been officially lifted in several provinces, with local warnings for residents to be wary of dangerous sea currents and temporary water disturbances on beaches.
Another earthquake in Bhutan
The catastrophic scene in the Pacific Ocean coincided with the announcement by the German Center for Geoscience Research (GFZ) of another earthquake with a magnitude of about 8 on the Richter scale that struck the southern Asian kingdom of Bhutan. According to technical reports, the earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers in the heart of the Himalayan region, with no further details on the occurrence of human casualties or serious material damage in the Kingdom.
According to topographical historical sources, the countries of the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, and Bhutan are among the most active tectonic regions in the world, and the first three countries are classified geographically within what is known as the "belt of fire" or "ring of fire" in the Pacific Ocean, which is a wide arc of faults, volcanic and seismic activities that witnesses about 90% of the world's earthquakes, where Japan alone records about 1500 earthquakes annually.
The Kingdom of Bhutan is located in a direct geological collision zone due to the collision of the Indian subcontinent plate with the Eurasian plate, leaving the entire Himalayas vulnerable to violent and continuous tremors.
The twin quakes are reminiscent of the long history of natural disasters in the Philippine and Asian archipelagos, which prompts governments to adopt strict early warning systems to limit human casualties during sudden tsunamis.