dpPupils could be heard screaming at a school in Digos as a magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck off the coast of Mindanao island in the southern Philippines.
The powerful quake caused an outdoor structure to collapse, but in a statement posted to Facebook the school confirmed no-one was injured, thanking staff and pupils for “staying calm and orderly throughout the situation”.
Elsewhere in the Philippines at least 32 deaths have been reported. Casualty numbers still need to be verified by the national disaster agency, which tabulates and verifies reports by various local sources.
More than 130 aftershocks, with magnitudes ranging from 1.3 to 6.7, were recorded after the initial quake.
