20,000 people displaced by the Philippine earthquake that killed at least 37

Rescuers searched ruined buildings in the southern Philippines yesterday to ensure no one was still trapped a day after one of the strongest earthquakes to hit the country in a half-century killed at least 37 people and displaced more than 20,000.

Only four people were considered missing on official records in the southern provinces near where the 7.8 magnitude quake struck Monday morning, but the Office of Civil Defense acknowledged several collapsed and heavily damaged buildings must be thoroughly inspected for possible survivors or casualties.

The earthquake centered off Mindanao, the second most populous Philippine Island, injured nearly 500 people and displaced more than 20,000, most of whom fled to emergency shelters.

Many people who left their homes feared a tsunami. Waves up to 1.4-meter above tide level were measured in the Philippines, but the only tsunami damage reported was to six shanties on stilts in a coastal village. Smaller waves washed ashore in Indonesia and Palau and as far away as southern Japan.

The earthquake left a trail of destruction, including in General Santos, a lively coastal city of more than 700,000 people known as the country’s tuna capital.