Powerful quake strikes Philippines, triggering tsunami alerts across Asia

A powerful earthquake has struck the Philippines, destroying buildings and triggering tsunami alerts across Asia.

The magnitude 7.8 quake struck off the southern island of Mindanao shortly before 7:40am local time on Monday (23:40 GMT Sunday), according to the United States Geological Survey.

 The tremors caused several buildings to collapse in General Santos City. "Many buildings were affected, but I cannot enumerate them now because we are busy with ongoing rescues," Master Sergeant Robert Dagon of the General Santos City police was quoted as saying.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday ordered the suspension of classes in parts of Mindanao island, off the southern coast of which the quake had struck. 

 The US-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said earlier that tsunami waves as high as 3 metres (9.8 feet) could hit coastal areas of the Philippines, and waves of up to 1 metre (3.3 ft) were possible in parts of Indonesia and Malaysia.

The first waves were expected to hit the Philippines and parts of Indonesia at around 10am local time (0200 GMT), followed by southern Japan and Taiwan at around 11am (0300 GMT), and Micronesia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands an hour later, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).