WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - At least 19 people have been killed and more than 200 others injured in a powerful earthquake that struck the Mindanao region in the southern Philippines on Monday.
The quake of magnitude 7.8, hit off the shores of General Santos City in Sarangani province, the southern end of the Mindanao island, at around 7:37 a.m. local time at a depth of about 35 kilometers, according to the United States Geological Survey.
Most of the deaths were reportedly caused by building collapse.
The Jollibee fast food restaurant collapsed and reduced to rubble.
South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani provinces and the city of General Santos were the worst-affected areas.
The Philippines and three other countries in the Pacific - Indonesia, Japan and Australia - issued tsunami alerts following the quake.
The first three countries are situated in the geologically unstable earthquake and volcanic eruption-prone 'Ring of Fire.'
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged people in the affected provinces to move to higher grounds, and added that various government agencies were coordinating their disaster response.
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