At 7:37 a.m. on June 8, a catastrophic magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck about 20 miles offshore west of Maasim, Sarangani Province, Philippines, triggering a regional crisis across southern Mindanao. The powerful 30-second tremor was felt across several regions, generating more than 1,000 continuous aftershocks and triggering widespread coastal panic due to immediate, localized tsunami waves of up to 5 feet before alerts were safely lifted.