Mindanao earthquake death toll rises to 45
Philippine authorities said on June 10 that the toll from the June 8 quake had climbed to 45 dead, more than 480 injured and 17 missing, with several towns declaring a state of emergency.
- Philippine authorities confirmed 45 dead on June 10, along with 487 injured and 17 missing.
- The seismology bureau had logged 2,023 aftershocks by Wednesday morning, 47 of them strong enough to be felt.
- Roughly 145,000 people were affected and more than 3,100 homes damaged, with the towns of Alabel and Glan declaring a state of emergency.
- Tsunami waves of up to 1.5 metres were recorded in Indonesia.
The Philippines’ National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said on June 10 that the death toll from the earthquake that struck southern Mindanao two days earlier had risen to 45, with 487 injured and 17 still missing. From Belgrade, where natural disasters on the other side of the world are usually read through the lens of the country’s own experience with floods and landslides, the news carries a familiar reminder of how quickly early estimates climb once rescue teams reach remote and cut-off areas.
The magnitude 7.8 quake hit the island on June 8 at 7:37 a.m. local time. Its epicentre lay 26 kilometres west-southwest of Kiamba in Sarangani province, at a depth of about 55 kilometres. In the first hours the casualty count was far lower, but it has multiplied since as teams have pushed into the worst-hit municipalities.
How large is the affected area, and how severe is the damage?
The scale of the disaster only becomes clear through the figures on the affected population. According to the authorities, 32,926 families, or about 145,000 people, are feeling the impact. More than 3,100 homes have been damaged, and in General Santos alone, the largest urban centre in the quake zone, losses are estimated at roughly one billion pesos.
The shaking also hit transport infrastructure hard. Eighteen bridges and 41 stretches of road were damaged, which in places further slowed the arrival of aid. Around 130,000 customers lost power, and the towns of Alabel and Glan, among the hardest hit, declared a state of emergency to speed up the release of funds and bring in additional crews.
By Wednesday morning the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology had recorded 2,023 aftershocks, 47 of them strong enough for residents to feel. That sheer number keeps communities on edge and complicates work on the ground, since each new tremor threatens to bring down already weakened structures.
Access to some areas remains difficult because of damaged infrastructure.
That assessment came from Junie Castillo, a spokesman for the Office of Civil Defense, describing the main obstacle facing rescuers. The priority at this stage is twofold: to find those still missing under the rubble and to provide shelter, water and medicine for the tens of thousands displaced.
What does the regional tsunami warning mean?
A quake of this strength beneath or near the seabed almost always raises the fear of a tsunami, so authorities issued warnings for several countries in the region. In neighbouring Indonesia, waves of up to 1.5 metres were recorded, enough to alarm low-lying and densely populated coastlines even though a larger surge never followed.
For Southeast Asia, which sits on one of the most seismically active belts on the planet, such events are not rare, but each time they test early-warning systems and coordination between states anew. The coming days will show whether the toll shifts again as crews reach the last cut-off villages in the Mindanao interior.
Will the region’s early-warning systems hold up if another strong tremor strikes from the same zone?
