The death toll from a massive earthquake off the southern Philippines has grown to nine, according to the national disaster service, which warned that the toll could rise higher.
When a 6.7-magnitude earthquake slammed the Mindanao region on Friday, buildings shook and part of a ceiling inside a shopping center collapsed, people rushed into the streets or sheltered under tables.
According to the most recent update from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, at least 15 individuals were injured and over 800 homes were damaged or destroyed.
Over the weekend, the death toll rapidly increased as searchers discovered additional remains trapped beneath rubble or soil.
Although search and rescue activities have largely concluded, the disaster agency stated that it is still collecting data from some of the dozens of villages hit by the earthquake.
“I’m hoping to God that our death toll won’t go up anymore, but we’re still waiting for the information coming from the regions,” deputy spokesman Mark Timbal told AFP.
The quake was likely caused by movement of the earth’s crust along the Cotabato trench, a long, narrow dip on the seafloor that represents the boundary of one tectonic plate pushing against another, according to the state seismology agency.
The Philippines is located along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of high seismic and volcanic activity that runs from Japan to Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
Most are too weak to be felt by humans.