GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines — Doctors had to treat patients, including a young mother giving birth, in tents set up under the scorching sun on Tuesday as the number of reported deaths rose past 40 after Monday’s magnitude 7.8 earthquake in southern Mindanao.
Thousands remained displaced and the number of injured reached more than 450 following the quake that struck off Maasim town in Sarangani province, the hardest-hit area according to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Region 12 (Soccsksargen).
Some areas in the province were accessible only by helicopter as fears of aftershocks slowed down rescue efforts, local officials said.
“The rescuers are very cautious in their approach. That’s a challenge,” said Rodrigo Sosmeña, the OCD chief in the region.
A series of powerful aftershocks rocked the area within two hours after the first quake, while hundreds of weaker quakes followed.
The damage to local roads and the collapse of a bridge may keep some communities isolated for at least a week.
The OCD-12 reported on Tuesday that at least 33 people died in the earthquake, while 456 others were injured and four individuals remained missing. An Agence France-Presse (AFP) report citing provincial sources placed the death toll at 41.
At a hospital just outside General Santos City, AFP reporters heard cries of “push” followed by an infant’s cries as a mother gave birth outdoors behind a makeshift screen.
At another hospital in the tourist town of Glan in Sarangani, staff said more than 60 patients were on beds placed outside the facility due to concerns about the building’s structural integrity.
“The hospital sustained a lot of damage,” a staff member said. “The municipal engineer decided we could not use the building.”
At least 13 people were killed by landslides in Sarangani. Among them was a 13-year-old student in Malapatan town who, after initially escaping harm from the first quake, died on his way home from school.
Loregen Segafu, the boy’s mother, said that despite teachers advising students to wait for their parents after the main tremor struck at 7:37 a.m., her son, nicknamed Pao-pao, decided to ride home alone on his motorcycle.
While on his way, aftershocks triggered landslides along the route. Pao-pao escaped unharmed from the first wave of debris, which partially buried his motorcycle. But while trying to retrieve the vehicle, a second wave of rocks and soil struck him.
Sosmeña said the tourist town of Glan was left isolated, with landslides and severely damaged roads rendering highways impassable.
The town, which recorded 17 fatalities, was also hit by a powerful earthquake in November 2023, making Monday’s disaster especially traumatic for many residents.
Scenes of devastation greeted residents across the town on Tuesday, including a collapsed school, damaged commercial buildings, a public market in disarray, and houses reduced to rubble.
“The earthquake was so strong, it felt like an apocalypse I had only seen in movies,” resident Bobby Saya-ang told the Inquirer.
Antonio Acharon, head of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said the municipal building, already weakened by the 2023 earthquake, was further damaged and now leans closer to collapse.
Several kilometers before the entrance to Glan, a bridge at Barangay Sapu Masla in Malapatan was dismantled by Department of Public Works and Highways workers after inspectors found structural defects. Authorities demolished the bridge after motorists continued attempting to cross it despite the risks.
Nor-ann Edza, a resident of Buluan, Maguindanao del Sur, said she and 27 others, including a four-month-old baby, had checked into a resort in Glan and attempted to leave through Jose Abad Santos after the earthquake. They were forced to turn back.
“There’s a huge landslide that neither people nor horses can pass through,” she said, referring to an area in Barangay Baliton.
The group spent Monday night in tents along the roadside, cooking and eating in the dark after the quake also cut off power.
“I hope the government can hasten the repair of the road. Our food supplies are running low,” Edza said.
Acharon said the local government had already informed the DPWH and was hoping repairs could be expedited.
Several stranded tourists from Polomolok, South Cotabato, told the Inquirer they left their vehicle in Glan and walked to the bridge in Sapu Masla, where they waited to be picked up.
On Tuesday, a Bureau of Fire Protection team was airlifted to Glan by helicopter to assist in search-and-rescue operations. The flight also delivered around 200 food packs for immediate distribution.
The tremor affected 17,689 families across the region, with about 8,160 people displaced and staying in evacuation centers.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will travel to Mindanao this week to personally inspect the affected areas, with the date still to be finalized.
During a Palace briefing, the President ordered concerned agencies to ensure the safety and welfare of patients in hospitals affected by the earthquake.
Castro said some patients were reluctant to return after discovering cracks in hospital structures.
The President directed the Departments of Health and Public Works to immediately assess the structural integrity of hospitals and instructed the Department of Energy to prioritize power restoration in affected facilities.
The Department of Energy said it had intensified power restoration efforts across Southern Mindanao. Personnel from the department and the National Electrification Administration have been deployed to assist electric cooperatives and distribution utilities in affected communities.
According to the DOE, power has already been restored in several areas deemed safe for reenergization, while inspections continue elsewhere.
Additional crews from Dasureco and Cotabato Electric Cooperative-PPALMA have also been mobilized to support restoration efforts across southern Mindanao.
