A magnitude 7.8 earthquake decided to shake things up - literally - in the southern Philippines early Monday, triggering tsunami warnings, collapsing a few buildings, and ensuring at least one person had a really bad day.

“Many buildings were affected, but I cannot enumerate them now because we are busy with ongoing rescues,” Master Sergeant Robert Dagon of the General Santos City police told Agence France-Presse, presumably while juggling a clipboard and a sense of urgency.

Power outages joined the party, and authorities urged residents to head for higher ground - because when the ground itself is acting up, you might as well move uphill. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology reports the epicenter was 13km (8 miles) southwest of General Santos City on Mindanao island, striking at 7:37am with a depth of 10km (6.2 miles). The US Geological Survey, never one to let a good measurement go unadjusted, put the magnitude at 7.8 and depth at a slightly less dramatic 55.2km (34 miles).

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, in a move that will surprise no one, said tsunami waves up to 3 meters (10 feet) could hit some Philippine coasts, while waves up to 1 meter (3 feet) might grace Indonesia and Malaysia. “We advise people to evacuate to higher grounds or go further inland,” said Teresito Bacolcol, head of the Philippine institute, in what is perhaps the least surprising advice of the day.

Smaller tsunami waves were deemed possible in Taiwan, Japan, Guam, Papua New Guinea, and several other island nations and territories in the western Pacific. Meanwhile, residents in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi and North Maluku provinces also felt the tremors, proving that earthquakes don’t respect borders.

The Philippines, which holds the dubious honor of being one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries, is frequently rattled by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions thanks to its prime location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” - an arc of seismic faults around the ocean. The archipelago also gets lashed by about 20 typhoons and tropical storms each year, because apparently Mother Nature has a quota to fill.

This is a breaking news story - check back for updates, preferably from high ground.