THE death toll from the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the southern Philippines earlier this week has risen to 55, Philippine authorities confirmed on Thursday, just before a fresh 5.0 magnitude tremor jolted the volatile Mindanao region on Friday evening.
Local disaster management officials, reporting through the Philippine News Agency, confirmed the updated casualty figures after additional bodies were recovered from collapsed buildings and landslide-hit communities, while dozens of citizens remain injured and several others are still missing amid the widespread destruction.
The crisis deepened at 1758 GMT on Friday when a new 5.0 magnitude earthquake struck the region at a depth of 10 kilometres, with an epicentre initially determined by the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences to be at 5.46 degrees north latitude and 124.92 degrees east longitude.
Search and rescue operations in the hardest-hit areas, including General Santos City and parts of Sarangani province where states of calamity have been declared, continue to be severely hampered by unstable structures, damaged roads, and numerous ongoing aftershocks recorded by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
Thousands of displaced residents are currently taking shelter in emergency evacuation centres as national agencies distribute food, water, and medical assistance, following directives from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. who has pledged full government support to accelerate recovery and rehabilitation measures.
The archipelago nation remains on high alert due to its location along the Pacific Ring of Fire, a highly seismically active zone that subjects the Philippines to frequent and severe earthquake activity. - June 13, 2026
