MANILA, Philippines (AP) — An offshore magnitude 7.8 earthquake rocked the southern Philippines Monday, leaving at least 12 people dead, injuring more than 200 others mostly in damaged buildings and sparking a 1-meter (3-foot) tsunami along nearby coasts, officials said.The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the threat of a tsunami had largely passed about five hours after the quake struck the southern region of Mindanao. There have been no reports of damage or casualties from the tsunami, Teresito Bacolcol, the director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, said.“It’s a major earthquake and we’re expecting damage and we’ve already some damaged buildings based on videos we’ve seen,” Bacolcol told The Associated Press.
The strongest quake to strike the Philippines this year was centered at sea at a depth of 33 kilometers (20 miles), about 32 kilometers (20 miles) southwest of Maasim town in Sarangani province, according to the Philippine institute.
General Santos, a southern port city of more than 700,000 people that is a hub for the tuna export industry and other commerce, was among the hardest hit.Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said “the national government is moving and we will not leave Mindanao behind.”
