WATCH: Harrowing Video Shows People Scrambling to Escape Crumbling Buildings After During Massive Philippines Earthquake
Harrowing video from the Philippines showed the earth shaking and people scrambling as a major earthquake rocked the southern part of the country Monday morning.
Video showed terrified students from the Deped Mahayahay Elementary School, located in Malita, Davao Occidental, just starting the school year screaming and scrambling to escape a collapsing roof. Additional video showed plaster crumbling off of swaying buildings.
School officials reported that all students and teachers were safely evacuated, and no one was injured.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the 7.8 magnitude quake struck off the island of Mindanao, the major island in the southern Philippines that more than 25 million people call home.
“The earthquake had a depth of about 22 miles, a relatively shallow depth,” Fox Weather reported. “According to the USGS, the initial earthquake was severe and had an estimated intensity of VIII on the Mercalli intensity scale, meaning the shaking was intense, felt by everyone in the area and caused widespread alarm among residents.”
The Filipino government says it has mobilized disaster response teams. At least 32 people have been killed as rescuers sift through the rubble searching for survivors.
Reports say several multistory buildings collapsed in General Santos, which is the closest major city to the epicenter.
Aftershocks continue to hit the area with magnitudes ranging from 6.5 to 4.0. Philippine disaster officials have recorded more than 150 aftershocks so far.
The quake triggered tsunami warnings in the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center reported that waves up to 10 feet were possible along the coasts of the Philippines. Waves up to 3 feet were predicted for Indonesia and Malaysia.
Taiwan, Japan, Guam, Papua New Guinea and other nearby islands were placed under tsunami advisories, although some are starting to be lifted.
“The Philippines is one of the most seismically active countries in the world due to its location on the active Pacific Ring of Fire — the massive, 25,000-mile ring of volcanoes and tectonic plate boundaries where 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes occur,” Fox Weather reported.
Watch the clip above via CNN.
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