A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the coast of Sarangani province in the southern Philippines early on Monday morning, killing at least eight people, collapsing buildings and triggering tsunami warnings across the wider Asia-Pacific region. The quake hit at 7:37 a.m. local time, with its epicentre approximately 13 kilometres south-west of General Santos City, a major urban centre on the island of Mindanao, the Philippines' second-largest island. The US Geological Survey placed the depth of the quake at around 55 kilometres, while the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) revised its estimates as more data became available, ultimately aligning with the global figure of 7.8.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center warned that waves of up to three metres were possible on some Philippine coasts, with waves of up to one metre possible along parts of Indonesia and Malaysia. Smaller advisories were issued for Japan, Taiwan, Guam and several western Pacific island nations. Indonesia later lifted its tsunami warning after recording small waves at multiple locations, the highest measuring 0.75 metres at Sangihe island. Philippine authorities warned that initial tsunami waves could arrive within two hours of the quake and might continue for hours. "We advise people to evacuate to higher grounds or go further inland," said Teresito Bacolcol, the head of Phivolcs. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr urged the public to act immediately, saying: "Do not wait. Your life is more important than anything left behind."

The death toll — at least eight, according to the Office of Civil Defense — included casualties in Davao Occidental, General Santos City and South Cotabato. Videos verified by multiple outlets showed the upper floor of a Jollibee fast food restaurant — a well-known Philippine chain — collapsing in General Santos City, along with the outer walls of a nearby commercial complex. In Davao del Sur, a province north of the epicentre, part of a high school collapsed as students gathered outside. The earthquake struck on the first day of the new school year, and the Philippines Red Cross reported attending three high schools to care for traumatised students. Marcos Jr ordered the suspension of classes in affected areas until further notice.

Geologists point to the northern section of the Sangihe Trench and the southern segment of the Cotabato Trench — two of the three active subduction trenches surrounding Mindanao — as the likely source of the rupture. The Philippines sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a zone of intense seismic and volcanic activity encircling the Pacific Ocean, making it one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. The Civil Aviation Authority suspended operations at General Santos Airport pending safety inspections, power outages were reported across the region and the government confirmed that emergency Quick Response Funds were available for immediate deployment to affected communities.