Following the magnitude 7.8 earthquake at 7.38am on 8 Jun 2026, with the epicentre approximately 20km off the south coast of Mindanao, near General Santos City on the mainland, extensive damage has been reported, and as expected the situation in some remote areas are still slowly emerging.
All OMF staff and colleagues working in the south have reported safe. But there has not yet been a report on the impact the earthquake has had on the communities where OMF has ministry involvement or our coworkers in the affected areas.
As of the time of this update, at least 40 have been reported dead, hundreds injured and some missing. Some worst affected areas have been cut off due to major roads being damaged. The national government has already mobilized key departments and agencies to coordinate rescue and relief efforts.
The earthquake occurred on the first day of the new school year. At least one university was reported severely damaged with one building collapsed, although unoccupied at the time. The fact that most elementary and high schools were gathered at school plazas for flag raising and welcome back programs might have prevented more serious injuries from children being caught up in school buildings. Among all the media footage in the aftermath, pictures of damage to church buildings, sad but not unexpectedly, have been circulated. In the next days, some communities may continue to live with little supplies and medical assistance, while continually being rocked by the hundreds of aftershocks.
Please pray for a well-coordinated effort led government agencies for the needed assistance to the most vulnerable. Pray that the ongoing political turmoil in the Senate plus other governance issues dominating headlines in recent weeks will not become a hindrance.
Please pray that the power grid serving the whole of Mindanao will continue to have enough capacity for the whole region. The power situation is currently under Yellow alert, meaning that the total available capacity is marginally above projected peak demand. This is caused by the forced outage of a number of power plants, some as a result of the earthquake.
Please for the church community to work collaboratively with other groups and to offer comfort to many with the comfort that only God can give.
