00:04Filipino rescuers work in the dark at a building toppled in a magnitude 7.8 earthquake on the
00:09southern island of Mindanao.
00:11At least 35 people have been killed, and around a dozen are missing.
00:17In the city of General Santos, one of the worst hit areas, there's a sense of disbelief
00:22amid the ruins.
00:24The Philippines has earthquakes all the time, including some major ones last year.
00:28People in this part of the south, though, are stunned and emotional after an earthquake
00:33on a scale even they are not used to.
00:36It was the first time I had experienced something that strong.
00:40I really couldn't stop myself from tearing up.
00:43I thought about my children and my niece.
00:45What if something happened to them?
00:47Thank God they're okay, but my siblings' house collapsed.
00:51Traumatized survivors wonder what's next.
00:54There is no water, no electricity, and there's been a blackout.
00:58When I got home, there was no electricity or water.
01:01We are all affected.
01:02We don't have anything to drink.
01:05Disruption is everywhere.
01:07People in the disaster zone had been getting ready for the start of a new school term.
01:11But classes on Mindanao are cancelled.
01:14And it may be some time before students at this collapsed high school will have a place
01:18to go to school again.
01:22And then there are the aftershocks, one of which peaked at magnitude 6.5.
01:27As coastal residents evacuate, some in General Santos are camped out on the street, just in case.
01:34We are staying here outside, so if there are aftershocks, we won't struggle to evacuate from the second floor.
01:41We are afraid that we won't wake up in time if there is an aftershock.
01:45After an uneasy night, dawn arrives, and drone footage shows the extent of the rubble.
01:51Taiwan's foreign ministry has given its condolences.
01:53But many families here are waiting, hoping for a miracle from beneath the rubble,
01:59but also bracing for confirmation of the worst.
02:02Klein Wang and John Van Trieste for Taiwan Plus.
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