Dozens killed as powerful earthquake strikes central Philippines

CEBU, Philippines: The death toll from a 6.9-magnitude earthquake that hit the central Philippines rose to 69 on Wednesday, a disaster official said, as authorities mounted a rescue effort to find survivors after one of the country’s strongest quakes in a decade.

The shallow quake struck late on Tuesday off the coast of the island of Cebu, cutting power and damaging buildings. It was not immediately clear how many people were missing.

The death toll was 69 as of Wednesday late morning said Jane Abapo of the regional civil defence office, citing data from the provincial disaster agency that was subject to validation.

The national disaster agency earlier said the toll could be as high as 60, with 150 reported injured.

The hospital in Bogo City near the epicentre of the quake was “overwhelmed”, civil defence official Raffy Alejandro told reporters.

The Philippine coast guard deployed a vessel carrying dozens of doctors, nurses and other medical personnel bound for Bogo, while President Ferdinand Marcos Jr assured survivors of swift assistance, with cabinet secretaries on the ground directing relief operations.

“We are assessing the damage, we are assessing the needs,” Marcos told reporters after distributing aid in Masbate, an island recovering from the impact of super typhoon Ragasa last week.

“Our first main problem is finding the casualties, identifying people who need help”, he told DZMM radio, adding many homes had suffered damage.

Earthquake monitoring agencies put the quake’s depth at around 10 km and recorded multiple aftershocks, the strongest having a magnitude of 6. There was no tsunami threat following the quake. The Philippines lies in the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where volcanic activity and earthquakes are common. The country had two major quakes in January, with no casualties reported. – News Agencies