487 injured have been identified
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A powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake in the Philippines has killed 37 people, local authorities have confirmed. 487 injured have been identified. Officials fear the number could rise.
Hundreds of aftershocks have hit the southern Philippines since the quake. The quake, which struck on Monday morning, also affected Indonesia, the southern region of Mindanao and the Pacific coast of Japan. Tens of thousands of people were displaced after the quake.
Rescuers have begun arriving in coastal towns and markets with relief supplies.
Buildings have collapsed and roads have been damaged. Landslides have blocked roads in some places. Power and telephone services are still out in many parts of the island.
'We hope the death toll does not rise further. But this number is expected to change. "Our priority right now is search and rescue operations," Bernardo Alejandro, undersecretary of the agency overseeing disaster management, told DZMM radio.
He said at least 2,000 homes and 6,000 government schools were estimated to have been damaged.
The Philippines is highly vulnerable to earthquakes as it lies on the 'Pacific Ring of Fire'. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur here from time to time.
Geologists said the quake was triggered by a tremor in the Cotabato Trench in the southern part of the country on Monday morning.
