NPR Removes AP Photo Credit, Updates Death Toll in Philippines Earthquake Report

NPR has made significant changes to its report on the 7.8 magnitude earthquake in the Philippines, removing a photo caption and updating the death toll. The original report attributed the photo to Ernesto Torres Jr./AP, while the revised version attributes it to Philippine Red Cross via AP. Additionally, the death toll has been increased from 'at least 16' to 'at least 16 people were killed, mostly due to falling debris, a damaged mosque and a landslide in the southern provinces of South Cotabato and Davao Occidental and on Balut Island.' These changes indicate a more accurate and detailed accounting of the disaster's impact, providing readers with a clearer understanding of the severity of the earthquake and its consequences.

Related Changes

7.8 magnitude quake hits southern Philippines; tsunami risk for some coasts +710 -507
− By The Associated Press This shows vehicles damaged by debris after powerful earthquake in the Mindanao region, Philippines Monday, June 8, 2026.
+ By The Associated Press In this photo provided by the Philippine Red Cross, rescuers inspect the damage after an earthquake in General Santos, Philippines, Monday, June 8, 2026.
− Ernesto Torres Jr/AP hide caption MANILA, Philippines — A magnitude 7.8 earthquake centered at sea shook part of the southern Philippines early Monday, causing damage in a key coastal city, knocking down power and setting off 1-meter (3-foot) tsunami waves along nearby coasts, officials said.
+ Philippine Red Cross via AP hide caption MANILA, Philippines — An offshore magnitude 7.8 earthquake rocked the southern Philippines Monday, killing at least 16 people, injuring more than 200 others mostly in damaged buildings and sending a 1-meter (3-foot) tsunami into nearby coasts.
− President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
+ A few buildings collapsed and key infrastructure sustained quake damage in the city of General Santos, and tsunami damage was reported in at least one coastal village.
− asked people to immediately go to higher ground in Philippine areas vulnerable to a tsunami, and Indonesian and Malaysian authorities also issued warnings to their nearby coastal areas.
+ Smaller waves were measured in Indonesia and Palau and as far away as southern Japan.
− There were no immediate reports of casualties, and it was not clear if people were trapped or injured in the collapse of at least one small building in General Santos, a tuna-processing city of more than 700,000 people that is also a commercial hub in the south.
+ "It's a major earthquake and we're expecting damage," Teresito Bacolcol, the director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, told The Associated Press.
− The strongest earthquake to hit the Philippines this year was was centered at sea about 13 kilometers (8 miles) southwest of General Santos and was caused by movement in the Cotabato Trench at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
+ The strongest quake to strike the Philippines this year was centered at sea off Mindanao island at a depth of 33 kilometers (20 miles), about 32 kilometers (20 miles) southwest of Maasim town in Sarangani province, according to Bacolcol. General Santos, a port city of more than 700,000 people that is a hub for the tuna export industry and other commerce, was among the hardest hit. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
− It struck at 7:37 a.m., the institute's director, Teresito Bacolcol said.
+ said "the national government is moving and we will not leave Mindanao behind." The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the threat of a tsunami largely passed about five hours after the quake. Six shanties on stilts were damaged in a coastal village in Zamboanga del Sur due to the quake and taller waves, officials said.
− "It's a major earthquake and we're expecting damages and we've already some damaged buildings based on videos we've seen," Bacolcol told The Associated Press.
+ In this photo provided by the Philippine Red Cross, rescuers inspect the damage after an earthquake in General Santos, Philippines, Monday, June 8, 2026. Philippine Red Cross via AP hide caption At least seven people were killed and about 130 others injured in General Santos, where a few small buildings partially collapsed and several structures, including a key access bridge, sustained dangerous cracks, Rod Sosmeña, regional director of the Office of Civil Defense, told The AP.
− DZRH radio station in Manila reported that the small commercial building where its provincial branch was located partly collapsed and staffers dashed to the ground floor without injuries.
+ Nine other people were killed mostly due to falling debris, a damaged mosque and a landslide in the southern provinces of South Cotabato and Davao Occidental and on Balut Island, Sosmeña and another disaster-response official, Ednar Dayanghirang, said.
− It wasn't clear if other people were trapped in the rubble of the four-story office building due to the quake, which struck before office hours.
+ Sosmeña said authorities were checking reports of some students being trapped in a two-story school that collapsed in General Santos. He could not immediately provide details but the national police said at least seven people were missing in General Santos.
− Debris also fell from other buildings, hitting tricycle taxis parked below.
+ The Bureau of Fire said without elaborating that it was involved in search and rescue efforts in a damaged building and a warehouse in General Santos.
− The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said tsunami waves up to 3 meters (10 feet) were possible on some coasts of the Philippines.
+ Public schools had reopened nationwide Monday after the summer vacation from April to May.
− Waves up to 1 meter (3 feet) were possible on some coasts of Indonesia and Malaysia.
+ Dayanghirang said more than 100 students attending morning flag-raising ceremonies in his southern region sustained bruises and some fainted in panic.
− Bacolcol said 1-meter (3-foot) waves were monitored in the provinces of Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani by land-based tsunami watch stations.
+ The international airport in General Santos was temporarily shut, and 17 domestic flights were canceled, civil aviation officials said. "Our pickup truck suddenly jerked and I thought we had a flat tire," said Sosmeña, who was traveling as the quake struck at 7:37 a.m.
− Smaller waves were monitored in at least one other province, he said.
+ "People dashed out of houses into the streets." Dayanghirang said he was able to "hardly stand and keep my balance when the ground shook as I was leaving my house" in the southern port city of Davao.
− "Please heed the tsunami warning.
+ DZRH radio in Manila reported that a small commercial building where its provincial station was located partly collapsed and staffers dashed to the ground floor without injuries.
− Move to higher ground now.
+ It wasn't clear if other people were trapped in the rubble of the four-story office building.
− Do not wait.
+ Debris also fell from other buildings, hitting tricycle taxis parked below. Waves of 1 meter (3 feet) were generally monitored in the provinces of Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani.
− Your life is more important than anything left behind," Marcos told people in quake-hit provinces.
+ A 1.4-meter (4.6-foot) wave was monitored at one time in the coastal area of Kiamba town in Sarangani, Bacolcol said.
− "The national government is moving and we will not leave Mindanao behind," Marcos said and added that disaster-response agencies were on standby to respond. Malaysia's Meteorological Department issued a tsunami warning for Sabah state on Borneo island.
+ The quake was also felt in Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo island.
Sabah is just a boat ride away from southern Philippines.
− An 83-centimeter (2.7-feet) tsunami was measured by a gauge off Indonesia's Sulawesi island.
+ An 83-centimeter (2.7-feet) tsunami was measured by a gauge off Indonesia's Sulawesi island, and the PTWC said 30-centimer (1-foot) waves were measured in Palau.
− Smaller sea changes were possible in Taiwan, Japan, Papua New Guinea and several island nations and territories in the western Pacific.
+ The U.S.
− An advisory for Guam was lifted about two hours after the quake and there was no threat to Hawaii, the PTWC said. Aftershocks up to 6.5 magnitude followed, the U.S.
+ Geological Survey reported the depth of the original quake at 55 kilometers (34 miles).
− Geological Survey said. It measured the original quake at 55 kilometers (34 miles) deep.
Variations in measurements by different agencies are common in the immediate aftermath of an earthquake.
+ Aftershocks as strong as 6.5 magnitude were recorded.
The Philippines, one of the world's most disaster-prone countries, is often hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of seismic faults around the ocean. The archipelago is also lashed by about 20 typhoons and tropical storms each year. Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor