Manila (BN24) – At least 69 people have been confirmed dead after a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck the central Philippines, toppling buildings, cutting power, and trapping dozens under rubble in the coastal city of Bogo and surrounding towns in Cebu province. Authorities warned Wednesday that the toll could rise further as rescue efforts continued into the night.
The quake, one of the strongest to hit the region in more than a decade, struck late Tuesday at a shallow depth of just 5 kilometers (3 miles) off the coast of Cebu. Officials said the violent shaking caused widespread damage, collapsed homes, triggered landslides and left hospitals overwhelmed with patients.
Jane Abapo, of the regional Civil Defense office, said 69 deaths had been recorded by Wednesday morning, citing provincial disaster data still subject to validation. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council earlier said at least 150 people were injured, with dozens more still missing.
Rescuers used backhoes, cranes, and sniffer dogs to comb through collapsed buildings, while sporadic rain and damaged roads slowed operations. “We’re still in the golden hour of our search and rescue,” deputy civil defense administrator Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV told reporters, adding that reports continued to come in of people trapped under debris.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assured survivors that the government was mobilizing resources for relief and recovery. “We are assessing the damage, we are assessing the needs,” he said while distributing aid on Masbate island, still recovering from a typhoon last week. The Philippine Coast Guard deployed a ship carrying dozens of doctors and nurses to Bogo City, near the epicenter, where hospitals were overrun with victims.
Local officials said children were among the dead. Mariano Martinez, mayor of nearby San Remigio, reported 11 casualties in his town, including a 12-year-old boy. In another incident, three coast guard personnel, a firefighter, and a child died when walls collapsed as they tried to escape a sports complex where residents had gathered.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) briefly issued a tsunami warning, advising people to move away from coastal areas of Cebu, Leyte, and Biliran. No waves were recorded, and the warning was lifted after three hours, but thousands of residents refused to return to their homes, instead sleeping in fields and parks under intermittent rain.
Officials reported more than 600 aftershocks, including one as strong as magnitude 6, and warned that more tremors were likely in the coming days. Phivolcs chief Teresito Bacolcol noted that rain-soaked mountainsides were particularly vulnerable to landslides after recent storms.
“This was really traumatic to people. They’ve been lashed by a storm, then jolted by an earthquake,” Bacolcol said.
Vice Mayor Alfie Reynes of San Remigio appealed for food, clean water, and heavy equipment to speed up rescue operations. “It is raining heavily and there is no electricity, so we really need help,” she said.
The quake damaged homes, schools, government buildings, and churches, including a century-old structure that collapsed in Cebu. While the Mactan-Cebu International Airport remained operational, power outages affected large swathes of the island.
Cebu province, home to 3.4 million people and one of the country’s top tourist destinations, is now bracing for aftershocks while authorities assess whether to request international assistance.
The Philippines, located on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” is among the world’s most disaster-prone nations. It endures frequent typhoons, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes, including two earlier this year that caused no casualties. In 2023, a 6.7-magnitude offshore quake killed eight people.
Source: AP
