Strong Earthquake Damages Adventist Churches and School Facilities in Southern Mindanao

[Asia Joe]

DAVAO CITY, PHILIPPINES —Several Seventh-day Adventist churches and educational facilities sustained significant damage after a powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Mindanao on the morning of June 8, 2026.

According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), the earthquake occurred at 7:37 a.m. with an epicenter located 32 kilometers west of Maasim, Sarangani Province, at a depth of 33 kilometers. The tremor registered at Intensity VII (Destructive) on the PHIVOLCS Earthquake Intensity Scale (PEIS), strongly affecting communities across Mindanao, particularly General Santos City and neighboring provinces.

Initial assessments from the Southern Mindanao Mission (SMM), the local administrative headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the southern Mindanao, revealed extensive damage to several church properties within its territory. Among the most severely affected were Malapatan Central Adventist Church in Malapatan, Sarangani Province; Gadong Adventist Church in Balangonan, Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental; and Polo Adventist Church in Polomolok, South Cotabato. Reports indicate that these church structures either collapsed or sustained damage beyond immediate use.

Other local congregations reported visible cracks and structural concerns, prompting church leaders to coordinate further inspections with local government authorities and engineers.

https://sepumadventist.org/article/strong-earthquake-damages-adventist-churches-and-school-facilities-in-southern-mindanao

[phkrause]

Will be praying for the families and the Philippines that God will be with them in there hour of need!!