The seafloor rose by up to 2 meters after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck waters off southern Philippines, sharply reshaping the coastline. The death toll, including the missing, has surpassed 100.
The Philippines Department of Environment and Natural Resources said on the 14th that the seafloor uplifted in parts of coastal areas in Sarangani province and Davao Oriental province on Mindanao Island due to the earthquake's aftermath.
The survey found that in some areas the seafloor rose by up to 2 meters, exposing underwater coral reefs and seagrass beds. Photos released by the Environment Department showed various marine life exposed along with coral.
As a result, in some coastal areas the coastline moved as much as about 200 meters from its original position, it was found.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology analyzed that these geomorphological changes occurred as the Cotabato Trench near the quake's epicentral region shifted.
The quake occurred on the 8th in waters off the southern part of Mindanao Island. According to the Philippines National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, 61 people have died and 40 are missing so far, and the number of injured has reached 1,403.
The scale of damage is also growing. More than 173,000 households and more than 724,000 people suffered direct and indirect damage, and about 9,900 dwellings were completely destroyed. Another more than 54,000 were partially damaged.
Damage to 725 infrastructure sites, including roads and bridges, brought estimated losses to about 1 billion Philippine pesos.
The Philippine government said it is carrying out recovery work to support affected residents and supply relief goods, and has so far disbursed about 67.6 million Philippine pesos in aid.