Death Toll from M7.8 Philippines Earthquake Rises to 53, Seventeen Still Missing
The death toll from the powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck off the coast of Mindanao in the southern Philippines early this week continues to rise. As of Wednesday (10/6/2026), the local disaster management agency confirmed that 53 people have been declared dead as a result of the Philippines earthquake.
Spokesman for the Philippine Bureau of Fire Protection, Anthony Arroyo, stated that most of the 53 bodies recovered are still undergoing identification. He reported that rescue teams remain in intensive search for 17 people reported missing. Based on data from the Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, 487 people have also been injured.
The confirmed death toll was distributed across the affected areas. The earthquake, which occurred on Monday (8/6) at 7.37 am local time, was centred off the coast of Sarangani Province. The violent shaking triggered at least 10 landslides in the southern Mindanao region. In Sarangani’s Barangay New Aklan, 13 residents were reportedly buried by a landslide that struck a residential area.
The disaster caused massive damage to public facilities and transport access. The Education Department recorded that the earthquake affected around 6,224 schools, impacting more than 3.2 million students and 128,000 teaching personnel. Approximately 130,000 customers experienced total power outages. Hospitals in the affected areas were forced to treat patients in emergency tents over concerns about structural safety due to ongoing aftershocks.
More than 149,000 people have been directly impacted, with 41,000 residents forced to evacuate to emergency shelters. The Philippine government has distributed initial emergency aid worth 4.8 million Philippine pesos, equivalent to 1.4 billion Indonesian Rupiah. Search, rescue and evacuation operations are continuing at various locations, with local authorities warning that the death toll could still increase as the clearing of landslide material and building rubble remains incomplete.