Rescuers are searching ruined buildings in the southern Philippines to ensure no one was still trapped a day after the strongest earthquake to hit the country in a half-century killed at least 37 people and displaced more than 32,000. Only four people were considered missing on official records in the southern provinces near where the 7.8 magnitude quake struck Monday morning. However, the Office of Civil Defense acknowledged several collapsed and heavily damaged buildings must be thoroughly inspected for possible survivors or casualties. The earthquake was centered off Mindanao and displaced more than 20,000, most of whom fled to emergency shelters.

Residents of a northern Philippine town are picking up the pieces following one of the deadliest storms to hit the country this year. At least 152 people are dead and missing after Tropical Storm Trami ravaged northern and central provinces. Experts say a mix of increasingly destructive weather blamed on climate change and economic desperation that has forced people to live and work in previously off-limits disaster zones have made many communities across Southeast Asia disasters waiting to happen. One man wept as his daughter's body was dug from the debris.