Mindanao quake: GenSan residents remain outdoors amid aftershocks and damaged homes
Fear has pushed thousands of residents in General Santos City to sleep outside following Monday’s powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake, which damaged homes, brought down buildings, and triggered ongoing aftershocks across southern Mindanao.
As search-and-rescue teams continue working to locate four missing people trapped in the rubble of two collapsed buildings, many survivors are opting to remain in open areas, evacuation centers, and temporary shelters instead of returning to structures they no longer trust—or, in some cases, no longer have.
The disaster has also forced patients in the city’s government hospital to stay outside as engineers assess damage to the facility, adding to the challenges faced by a city struggling to recover from what local officials described as the “strongest earthquake” they have ever experienced.
READ: Mindanao earthquake: Sarangani families sleep on roadsides as aftershocks continue
Beyond the casualty figures and infrastructure damage, the earthquake has reshaped daily life for thousands of families. Funeral wakes now take place outdoors, residents sleep under makeshift tents, and displaced families face uncertainty over where they will live in the coming weeks.
As aftershocks continue to shake the region, the crisis highlights both the physical destruction left by one of the country’s strongest earthquakes in recent years and the growing humanitarian needs confronting local governments and affected communities.
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City Public Information Office chief Rombel Catolico said response operations remained in full swing on Tuesday as authorities searched for four missing individuals believed trapped inside two damaged establishments.
“Our response teams continue addressing the needs of residents affected by the earthquake. Search-and-rescue operations also continue in at least two establishments where four people remain missing, two in each site,” Catolico said in Filipino.
Catolico described the earthquake as “the most destructive” he had witnessed.
“So far, it’s the worst earthquake I have experienced in my lifetime. We had earthquakes during the pandemic and also, in November 2023, but I think yesterday’s earthquake is the worst earthquake I have experienced. You can see the extent of the impact and damage,” he said.
Based on city disaster management data, General Santos City recorded 13 fatalities, 144 injured persons, and 1,836 affected families as of Tuesday. Four individuals remained missing.
Catolico said barangays, working closely with the City Social Welfare and Development Office, continued providing food, water, and temporary shelter assistance to affected families.
“Their immediate needs are being provided by the city, like food, water, temporary tents if needed,” he said.
Mayor Lorelei Pacquiao said the city government has prioritized food assistance and restoration of basic services while coordinating with the national government for rehabilitation efforts.
“For now, we are providing food and food packs while following up efforts to restore electricity,” Pacquiao said in Bisaya.
She said power had been restored to several areas, but some communities still lacked electricity.
Pacquiao also raised concerns about patients displaced from the government hospital after the quake damaged portions of the facility.
“We informed the President that the government hospital needs immediate repairs, and he promised to fast-track the work because our patients are staying outside,” she said.
The mayor said the city government was preparing financial assistance for affected residents while monitoring workers displaced by the collapse of commercial establishments.
“I asked for the employee lists immediately because we do not know when they will be able to return to work,” she said.
Many residents, however, said recovery remains a distant concern as they focus on immediate survival.
Among them is 36-year-old tricycle driver Manuel Paras, whose family now holds a wake outside their damaged home.
“The wake is outside. We also sleep outside,” Paras said in Bisaya, adding that the earthquake severely damaged both their home and his mother’s residence.
“When we arrived, they were already moving the coffin because the house had been destroyed, including our own house,” he said.
Adding to their hardship, a damaged septic tank now emits a foul odor around the property.
“The septic tank cracked, and the smell is overwhelming,” he said.
Paras said uncertainty weighs heavily on his family after the funeral.
“I keep thinking about where we will live after the burial because our house is no longer habitable. For now, we are pooling whatever resources we have and helping one another,” he said.
The magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck at 7:37 a.m. on June 8, with its epicenter located about 32 kilometers south-southwest of Maasim, Sarangani.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology traced the quake to movement along the Cotabato Trench, the same undersea fault system that generated the devastating 1976 Moro Gulf earthquake and tsunami.
The tremor reached Intensity VIII, or “Very Destructive,” in General Santos City, triggering widespread structural damage and forcing authorities to declare a state of calamity.
As of Tuesday morning, state seismologists had recorded more than 1,100 aftershocks, including one as strong as magnitude 6.7.
Nationally, the death toll from the earthquake has climbed to 41, while more than 450 people have suffered injuries. Thousands remain displaced across Mindanao as authorities continue rescue, relief, and recovery operations.
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