Mindanao earthquake update
Sarangani Earthquake Watch: Two Strong Aftershocks Strike Off Balut Island on July 18
Southern Mindanao felt two more strong aftershocks off Balut Island on July 18. PHIVOLCS recorded magnitude 5.5 shaking just after midnight and magnitude 5.6 later that morning. The agency linked both events to the continuing Sarangani and Davao Occidental sequence and reported no new damage.
July 18: Magnitude 5.5 and 5.6 aftershocks
The first strong event struck at 12:12 a.m. on July 18, about 10 kilometers southwest of Balut Island in the municipality of Sarangani, Davao Occidental. PHIVOLCS measured it at magnitude 5.5 and reported Intensity IV in General Santos City, Malapatan and Glan in Sarangani, Tupi in South Cotabato, and Jose Abad Santos in Davao Occidental.
At 10:23 a.m., PHIVOLCS recorded a magnitude 5.6 event farther offshore. The institute classified the July 18 earthquakes as aftershocks in the sequence associated with the June 8 magnitude 7.8 offshore Sarangani earthquake and the June 26 strong event off Davao Occidental. No new damage was reported.
June 14 and 15: What Changed
A magnitude 5.2 aftershock struck near Hinatuan late Sunday evening. By June 15, thousands of residents were still sleeping outdoors because they no longer trusted their homes.
Communities Still Waiting
Landslides from June 8 have not all been cleared, and in Barangay Kaltuad in Glan, homes were buried, water sources are contaminated, and no heavy equipment has reached the area. Fishing communities in Glan and Jose Abad Santos are also dealing with a changed coastline, where boat landings and waterfront access points that existed before June 8 no longer match what is there now. At Pangyan Marine Sanctuary, exposed reef fish, eels, clams, and shells have begun dying after the uplift left reef sections above sea level.
Housing Aid
The NHA programs announced June 15 are separate from last week's aid, while BIR extended tax deadlines to June 30 for taxpayers in General Santos City, Sarangani, and South Cotabato. The GSIS Emergency Loan Program is also open until September 7, 2026.
June 15 Night Through Early July: What Happened Next
At 11:30 p.m. on June 15, a magnitude 5.5 aftershock struck in the Sarangani area. PHIVOLCS confirmed it was an aftershock of the June 8 mainshock. It was felt at Intensity V in Glan, Sarangani, Davao Occidental, and General Santos City. Intensity IV was reported in Don Marcelino, Jose Abad Santos, Alabel, Malapatan, Malungon, Tboli, Tupi, Isulan, and Palimbang. PHIVOLCS said no damage was expected.
On June 16 at 5:18 p.m., a magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck about 113 kilometers southeast of Governor Generoso in Davao Oriental. PHIVOLCS said this was not an aftershock of the June 8 Sarangani earthquake. It was a separate event in a different fault zone.
NDRRMC Situational Report No. 8, released June 16, put the death toll at 68: 33 in Sarangani, 24 in South Cotabato, 10 in Davao Occidental, and 1 in Davao del Sur. The injury count was adjusted to 1,339. Thirty three people were still missing: 16 from Davao Occidental, 15 from Sarangani, and 2 from South Cotabato. The total affected population reached 337,541 families, with 4,449 families in 45 evacuation centers.
Housing damage figures also rose: 67,990 houses damaged in total, of which 12,387 were completely destroyed and 55,603 partially damaged. Infrastructure damage costs reached ₱1.07 billion and agricultural damage ₱29.8 million. Government assistance distributed to affected families reached ₱156,569,434, covering 24,985 families as of the same report.
The aftershock sequence kept going through late June and into July. A magnitude 6.5 aftershock struck the Celebes Sea near Sarangani Island on June 26, at a shallow depth of 42 kilometers, roughly three weeks after the mainshock. On July 2, a magnitude 4.0 quake hit Davao Occidental near Balut Island in Sarangani municipality, at a depth of 17 kilometers. A day later, on July 3, another magnitude 4.0 quake struck Sarangani itself. PHIVOLCS classified all three as tectonic aftershocks of the June 8 event and said no further damage was expected, while repeating that structures already weakened by the mainshock remain at risk in any renewed shaking.
By July 1, the Office of Civil Defense raised the confirmed toll to 88 dead and 1,316 injured, while the number still missing fell to 24. Nearly 113,300 homes had been damaged or destroyed across Mindanao by that point, well above the 67,990 counted in mid June.
Relief Widens as Disaster Resilience Month Begins
Relief widened in early July as the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office turned over USD200,000, about ₱12.2 million, to the Manila Economic and Cultural Office on July 3 for earthquake recovery work, with an additional ₱360,000 donated separately by the Subic Bay Taiwan Chamber of Commerce. Grab and McDonald's Philippines also mobilized a joint relief operation, delivering meals to the General Santos City command center for displaced families and driver partners, with McDonald's Kindness Kitchen committing at least 10,000 meals for Southern Mindanao communities. Grab separately activated GrabBayanihan, letting users convert GrabCoins into donations channeled through Angat Buhay, the Jollibee Group Foundation, and World Vision.
On July 1, the Office of Civil Defense Regional Office X opened National Disaster Resilience Month 2026 with a DRRM caravan and static display in Cagayan de Oro, alongside simultaneous launches in Bukidnon, Lanao del Norte, and Misamis Occidental. The observance, mandated under Executive Order 29, pushed household level preparedness such as go bags and family emergency plans, a message regional officials tied directly to the Sarangani sequence still being felt three weeks after the June 8 mainshock.
Move to higher ground right away after strong shaking near slopes or the coast, and do not wait for an official warning. Old earthquake footage from other events is still being shared on social media as if it is current, so verify before sharing and follow PHIVOLCS at phivolcs.dost.gov.ph and NDRRMC at ndrrmc.gov.ph.