A powerful 6.8 magnitude undersea earthquake rocked the Philippines on Friday, Nov. 17, officials said. The quake occurred in the southern Mindanao region at 4:14 p.m. local time. Although initially logged as having a magnitude of 7.2, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) later downgraded the earthquake to 6.8m, local news reported. There is currently no tsunami warning in effect.
When news of the earthquake first broke on Friday, it was logged that no injuries or casualties had been reported. But Corporal Christopher Laraño, of General Santos City Police Station 4, told TIME in a phone call at around 1 a.m. Saturday local time that his police station now “had two victims of the earthquake.” He said a married couple—believed to be an 18-year-old female and a 26-year-old male—died when a wall fell on them. TIME has reached out to the Office of Civil Defense for confirmation of this report.
Meanwhile, initial videos shared by a local news outlet appear to show people forced to evacuate from a hospital and huddling on the floor of a shopping mall, amid thunderous shakes in General Santos city in South Cotabato.
Further footage showed the quake causing signs and antennas on the top of a 17-story building to shake. The building’s employees were safely evacuated, local media shared. The earthquake is also reported to have cracked and shut down the Old Buayan Bridge, which joins General Santos and Sarangani.
Earthquakes are common in the Philippines. The country lies on the “Ring of Fire,” a belt of volcanoes circling the Pacific Ocean, prone to seismic activity.
Per Reuters, PHIVOLCS’ director, Teresito C. Bacolcol, told radio station DZRH that the earthquake was “destructive, so we would expect damage.” Power is currently out in some parts of the southern Philippines, local media reported. The Philippine Red Cross has shared via Facebook that it is “providing first aid and medical attention to students who collapsed.”
According to a local reporter, the airport in General Santos City sustained minor damage, including hairline cracks along columns in the building. They reported that no injuries have been logged among passengers or employees.
The government of General Santos City shared an advisory warning to locals via Facebook, urging people to “remain calm but vigilant,” while staying alert for possible aftershocks. City government work was suspended pending structural integrity assessments. However, “offices whose functions involve the delivery of basic and health services” were to remain active.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has “instructed every relevant government agency to promptly take action to ensure the safety and wellbeing of those affected,” said Presidential Communications Sec. Cheloy Garafil, according to local news reports.
The Philippines’ Office of Civil Defense said in an email to TIME on Friday that the earthquake had resulted in power outages in General Santos, Lebak and Sultan Kudarat, in addition to damaged houses in Sarangani and an affected school. The office said it had sent emergency alerts and warnings to six areas.
By 6:30 p.m. local time, power had been restored in some parts of General Santos City and the Province of Sarangani, the local government posted on its Facebook page.
With additional reporting from Chad de Guzman.