World·NewA magnitude 7.8 earthquake shook part of the southern Philippines early Monday, and a tsunami was possible on some regional coasts.Power outages, building collapses reported as people urged to go to higher groundThe Associated Press · Posted: Jun 07, 2026 9:37 PM EDT | Last Updated: 23 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.Police gather in front of a collapsed Jollibee fast-food restaurant following an earthquake in General Santos City, Philippines, early Monday. (Edwin Espejo/AFP/Getty Images)A magnitude 7.8 earthquake shook part of the southern Philippines early Monday, and a tsunami was possible on some regional coasts.People were urged to go to higher ground. There were no immediate reports of casualties, and it was not clear if people were trapped or injured in the collapse of a small building in General Santos City. The coastal city of more than 700,000 people is a commercial hub on the island of Mindanao known for its tuna processing industry.The epicentre of the quake was 13 kilometres southwest of General Santos City on the island of Mindanao and had a depth of 10 kilometres, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. It struck at 7:37 a.m. local time.The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) said tsunami waves up to three metres high were possible on some coasts of the Philippines. Waves up to a metre high 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.Vehicles damaged by debris are seen following a powerful earthquake in the Mindanao region of the Philippines on Monday. (Ernesto Torres Jr./The Associated Press)Smaller tsunami waves were possible in Taiwan, Japan, Guam, Papua New Guinea and several island nations and territories in the western Pacific. There was no threat to Hawaii or the American mainland coast, the PTWC said.DZRH radio station in Manila reported that the small commercial building where its provincial branch was located partly collapsed and staffers dashed to the ground floor without injuries. It wasn't clear if other people were trapped in the rubble of the four-storey office building due to the quake, which struck before office hours.What are tsunamis?Residents felt the earthquake tremors in Indonesia's North Sulawesi and North Maluku provinces.Aftershocks up to 6.1 magnitude followed, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It measured the original quake at 55 kilometres deep. Variations in measurements by different agencies are common in the immediate aftermath of an earthquake.The Philippines, one of the world's most disaster-prone countries, is often hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of seismic faults around the ocean. The archipelago is also lashed by about 20 typhoons and tropical storms each year. <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/EarthquakePH?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EarthquakePH</a> <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/EarthquakeDavaoOccidental?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EarthquakeDavaoOccidental</a><br>Earthquake Information No.1<br>Date and Time: 08 June 2026 - 09:14 AM<br>Magnitude = 2.4<br>Depth = 003 km<br>Location = 05.54°N, 125.32°E - 018 km N 38° W of Balut Island (Municipality Of Sarangani) (Davao Occidental)<a href="https://t.co/j4VtEhM6S0">https://t.co/j4VtEhM6S0</a> <a href="https://t.co/erfelpScZS">pic.twitter.com/erfelpScZS</a>—phivolcs_dost