More than 60 feared dead in the Philippines after powerful earthquake

Singapore: More than 60 people are feared dead in the central Philippines after a magnitude 6.9 earthquake brought down buildings, triggered landslides and possibly stirred a volcano.

The quake struck about 12am on Wednesday AEST just off Bogo City, in the north of Cebu Province, with a depth of 10 kilometres, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.

Bogo City hospital was overwhelmed with scores of injured people, Reuters reported, citing a local official. The city has a population of about 90,000.

The damage appeared to be concentrated in Cebu, about 90 minutes by air from Manila, but other areas in the dense island chain were also affected.

The impact of the disaster is still being assessed, but it comes on the back of weeks of flooding brought on by typhoons Bualoi and Ragasa.

“Because of these things, there is difficulty in transporting relief and assistance. And with all the landslides that have happened, it is making travel difficult,” World Vision Philippines director Dr Herbert Carpio told this masthead, adding that some important roads had reopened.

As rescuers sifted through the rubble, the death and injury tolls continued to rise. The latest unconfirmed number of dead was 69, Cebu’s disaster office said.

Footage reposted by local media purportedly shows employees inside a Cebu City mall trying to crawl from the rubble and calling for help. Another video showed a bridge rattling so violently that parked motorcyclists struggled to stay on their bikes.

About 30 kilometres west of Bogo City, onlookers filmed the collapse of a 160-year-old church on Bantayan Island. Another historic church north of Bogo City also collapsed.

The Institute of Volcanology and Seismology also reported a minor eruption from the Taal volcano, a roughly two-hour drive south of Manila, though it is unclear if that was related to the earthquake.

A colleague of Dr Carpio, Lucille Latonio, lives near Cebu City, about 90 kilometres south of Bogo.

“The place started to shake, and items on shelves were falling down, and the electric post across the street from us snapped and was engulfed in flames,” she said.

“People were panicking and shouting. I was trying to reach my kids and family. It was difficult to reach them because some lines were cut off and electricity was down.

“Other families in smaller islands were afraid of a tsunami, so they were asking where to go in case there would be one.

“I’m glad to know all my colleagues are safe. But some of them are still trying to reach their families.”

Cebu, one of the Philippines’ most popular tourist destinations, is home to 3.4 million people. Despite the damage, Mactan-Cebu International Airport, the country’s second-busiest gateway, remained operational.

Another hard-hit town, San Remigio, was placed under a state of emergency to assist the response and relief efforts. Vice Mayor Alfie Reynes appealed for food and water for evacuees, as well as heavy equipment to aid search and rescue workers.

“It is raining heavily and there is no electricity, so we really need help, especially in the northern part because there’s a scarcity of water after supply lines were damaged by the earthquake,” Reynes told DZMM radio.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr assured survivors of swift help, saying cabinet secretaries were on the ground directing relief operations. He expressed his condolences to those who lost loved ones.

With Reuters

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.