Philippine authorities urged people in affected coastal regions to move to higher ground after the offshore quake hit south of General Santos, a city of about 720,000.
A series of powerful aftershocks rocked the area from about two hours after the first quake, according to the United States Geological Survey, with the largest measuring 6.5 magnitude.
Videos posted to social media and verified by AFP showed a shopping center with a Jollibee fast food restaurant reduced to rubble in General Santos City, while a school building that officials said was unoccupied crumpled in another.
Houses in Zamboanga del Sur Province, located in the Zamboanga Peninsula region of western Mindanao, Philippines, are damaged in the quake, June 8, 2026. Photo by Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Zamboanga del Sur
"Lord, it has really collapsed! ... The building has really collapsed!" someone can be heard shouting as the school structure toppled.
