Earthquake in Mindanao on Friday afternoon kills at least seven – OCD

BLOCKED This photo, shared by netizens and local media outlets in General Santos city and Sarangani on Facebook, shows boulders blocking the national highway leading to Glan town following a landslide triggered by the magnitude 6.8 earthquake on Friday afternoon (November 17, 2023)

Updated on November 19, 2023 at 2:06 p.m.

MANILA, Philippines — At least seven died from the magnitude 6.8 earthquake that hit several areas in Mindanao, Office of Civil Defense (OCD) told INQUIRER.net on Saturday.

The tremor shook the waters off Sarangani in Davao Occidental on Friday afternoon.

According to OCD – Region XII Information Officer Jorie Mae Balmediano, aside from the previously reported couple in General Santos city who died from the earthquake, four more fatalities were recorded in the region.

“As of today, ang recorded fatality po natin dito sa Region XII ay umabot na po tayo sa six po,” she said over the phone.

(As of today, our recorded fatality here in Region XII has already reached six.)

A female employee of a salon, also in General Santos city, died after debris fell on her.

In the municipality of Malapatan, a male pastor was killed after being hit by a rock, Balmediano noted.

She added there were also fatalities recorded in Glan, Sarangani, after a man inside a hardware was hit by steel on his head, and a landslide occurred.

Meanwhile, in Davao region, its OCD Regional Director Ednar Dayanghirang said a male senior citizen died in Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental after a rock fell on him.

The regional office is assessing the impact of the earthquake.

Dayanghirang further said a National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council meeting was conducted on Saturday morning.

It was attended by Vice President Sara Duterte, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, and OCD Administrator Ariel Nepomuceno.

“All the agencies concerned are required to report and update the central office for 15 days,” Dayanghirang said over the phone.