The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck the southern Philippines has climbed to 35, as British aid teams prepare to deploy to the disaster zone. The 7.1 magnitude quake, which hit the island of Mindanao early Thursday morning, has left hundreds more injured and thousands displaced.
Rescue crews are still digging through rubble in the coastal city of Davao and surrounding rural areas, where buildings constructed with little reinforcement collapsed like houses of cards. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology reported dozens of aftershocks, some as strong as 5.2 magnitude, that have hampered rescue efforts and sparked fears of further damage.
Emergency supplies including tents, water purification tablets and medical kits are being stockpiled at Manila's airport, with British officials coordinating with Philippine authorities to identify the most urgent needs. The Department for International Development has pledged £2 million in initial aid, with more expected as the scale of the disaster becomes clearer.
For the families of the victims, each hour without news feels like a lifetime. In the fishing village of Digos, a father wept openly as he described pulling his daughter's body from the wreckage of a small school. "My little girl was in Grade three," he said in a voice breaking with grief. "Her teacher couldn't get to the door in time."
Hospitals are overwhelmed. The main hospital in Davao City has set up triage tents in the car park, doctors working by torchlight after the quake knocked out power to the entire region. Nurses are sleeping on hospital floors between shifts, and there are already reports of shortages of antibiotics and painkillers.
The earthquake struck at a time when communities were already struggling. Many of the areas affected are among the poorest in the Philippines, with families living in flimsy homes that offered no protection against the shaking. The local economy, reliant on fishing and small-scale farming, has been shattered. Fishing boats were washed ashore by a small tsunami that followed the quake, and roads to inland farms have been cut off by landslides.
British aid workers who have just returned from Typhoon Ompong relief efforts are now being retasked. They know the challenges ahead: logistical nightmares, bureaucracy, and the raw need of thousands of people who have lost everything.
"We are preparing for a long haul," said a UK aid team leader who asked not to be named. "This is not just about the first 48 hours. It is about rebuilding lives."
The Department for International Development emphasised that the British response will focus on the most vulnerable: children, the elderly, and pregnant women. Aid teams will be deployed as soon as the Philippine government clears their entry, likely within 24 hours.
At a community hall in Davao, families are sleeping on mats spread across a concrete floor. A mother clutches a baby who cannot stop crying. Her two other children cling to her legs, their eyes wide with trauma. They have not eaten since Wednesday night.
"We have nothing left," she says, her voice flat. "Our house is gone. My husband is still looking for his brother."
The international community is mobilising. The United Nations has released $10 million from its emergency fund, and the United States has offered military aircraft for transport. But for the people in the devastated villages of Mindanao, help cannot come fast enough.
In London, the Foreign Office has set up a helpline for British nationals in the region. So far, no British casualties have been reported.
The coming days will test not just the resilience of the Filipino people, but the promises of international solidarity. As one British aid worker put it: "The world watches now. We have to show we care."
