MANILA, Oct 1 (AP) — A powerful earthquake struck the central Philippines late Tuesday night, killing at least 69 people and trapping scores of residents under collapsed houses, nightclubs and businesses in Cebu province, officials said.
The magnitude-6.9 temblor, which hit around 10 p.m., was centred about 19 kilometres northeast of Bogo, a coastal city of 90,000 people, where roughly half of the deaths were reported. The quake, triggered by movement along an undersea fault line at a shallow depth of just five kilometres, left widespread devastation across Bogo and surrounding rural towns.
Rescue efforts continued through Wednesday, with army troops, police, firefighters and civilian volunteers fanning out across the hardest-hit areas. Sniffer dogs and backhoes were deployed as search-and-rescue teams conducted house-to-house searches for survivors. “We’re still in the golden hour of our search and rescue,” said Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV, deputy administrator at the Office of Civil Defence. “There are still many reports of people who were pinned or hit by debris.” Officials warned that the death toll could rise as rescuers struggled to reach villages cut off by damaged bridges, blocked roads and intermittent rains.
In Bogo’s mountainous outskirts, disaster officers reported that landslides unleashed boulders onto shanties, burying families as they slept. “It’s hard to move in the area because there are hazards,” said local disaster officer Glenn Ursal, adding that survivors were rushed to hospitals despite treacherous conditions. Fatalities were also reported in the outlying towns of Medellin and San Remigio, where walls and debris collapsed during the quake. Among the dead were three coast guard personnel, a firefighter and a child who were killed while trying to escape a sports complex disrupted by the tremors.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology briefly issued a tsunami warning, cautioning residents in Cebu, Leyte and Biliran to stay away from coastal areas due to possible waves of up to one metre. The advisory was lifted three hours later, and no unusual waves were reported. Still, thousands of frightened residents refused to return to their homes. Many spent the night in open fields and parks, braving intermittent rains, fearing aftershocks and more building collapses.
The quake struck as central provinces were still reeling from a tropical storm that battered the region on Friday, leaving at least 27 people dead, toppling trees and power lines, and forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands. “This was really traumatic for people,” said institute director Teresito Bacolcol. “They’ve been lashed by a storm, then jolted by an earthquake. I don’t want to experience what they’ve gone through.” More than 600 aftershocks have been recorded since Tuesday night’s quake, Bacolcol said, warning that rain-soaked slopes could trigger more landslides.
Authorities ordered schools and government offices closed in quake-hit areas while structural engineers assessed damage to buildings. The government is also weighing whether to seek foreign assistance, pending rapid damage assessments, officials said.
The Philippines, located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, is among the world’s most disaster-prone nations. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and about 20 typhoons each year regularly test the country’s disaster preparedness. The earthquake on Tuesday was one of the strongest to hit the central Philippines in over a decade, catching many residents as they slept or spent the evening at home.
