The quake, the strongest to hit the Philippines this year, struck off the coast of Mindanao island at 7:37 a.m. local time, causing widespread panic and disruption across several southern provinces.

Authorities said the death toll rose after at least 17 fatalities were reported in Sarangani province, where a landslide buried homes in the mountainous town of Glan.Rene Punzalan, a disaster mitigation official in Sarangani, said 13 villagers were killed in the landslide, while four others died elsewhere in the province.

The new casualties brought the overall death toll from the earthquake to at least 32.The earthquake damaged buildings, disrupted transportation and displaced thousands of residents. Philippine disaster officials said most fatalities were caused by collapsing structures, landslides and falling debris across the provinces of Sarangani, South Cotabato, Davao Occidental and nearby Balut Island.

In General Santos City, a regional commercial hub with a population of more than 700,000, several buildings were severely damaged or collapsed, including a popular fast-food restaurant. Seven people were reported killed in the city, while police said at least 12 others remained missing.

Search and rescue operations were underway at damaged structures, including a warehouse and commercial buildings, according to emergency responders.President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the suspension of classes in affected areas and directed national disaster agencies to mobilize emergency assistance.

Officials said more than 100 students suffered minor injuries or fainted during school flag-raising ceremonies as the quake struck shortly after public schools reopened following the summer break.The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the earthquake occurred near Maasim town in Sarangani province at a depth of about 33 kilometers.

The U.S. Geological Survey estimated the depth at 55 kilometers, differences that are common during initial assessments.Authorities recorded multiple aftershocks, including tremors reaching magnitude 6.5, and warned residents to avoid returning to damaged buildings until structural inspections are completed.The quake generated tsunami warnings across parts of the Pacific.

Waves of up to 1.4 meters were recorded along sections of the Philippine coastline, while smaller waves were detected in Indonesia, Palau and Japan.The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center later said the broader tsunami threat had largely passed, prompting Philippine authorities to lift evacuation warnings by mid-afternoon.

The earthquake temporarily shut General Santos International Airport and led to the cancellation of 17 domestic flights, according to aviation authorities.Situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines is among the world’s most disaster-prone countries and frequently experiences major earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tropical cyclones.

Unusually heavy rain and melting glaciers have brought deadly flash floods to the mountains of India and neighbouring Pakistan and Nepal over the past year or two with government officials increasingly blaming climate change.

Television footage from India’s Himachal Pradesh state showed houses flattened by landslide, buses and cars hanging on the edge of precipices after roads gave way, and hundreds of people at rescue sites as emergency workers struggled to clear debris.

“Again, tragedy has befallen Himachal Pradesh, with continuous rainfall over the past 48 hours,” the state’s chief minister, Sukhvinder Singh, said in a post on the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Reports of cloudbursts and landslides have emerged from various parts of the state resulting in loss of precious lives and property.”

Reports of more casualties kept coming in on Monday as the chief minister inspected some of the damage.

In one the most deadly incidents, a temple collapsed in the state capital, Shimla, with rescuers pulling out at least nine bodies, the chief minister said.

Schools and other educational institutes had been ordered to close and people in danger were being moved to safety in shelters, state officials said.

Parts of the state had received as much as 273 mm (10.75 inches) of rain in 24 hours, the India Meteorological Department said.

“This is the first time we’re seeing multiple cloudburst incidents and widespread damage in the state,” said state disaster management official Praveen Bhardwaj.

In the Solan district, houses collapsed after a cloudburst, killing at least seven people, and a mother and her child were killed in the Mandi district when their house collapsed, Bhardwaj said.