Philippines Earthquake: Death Toll Reaches 69, Rescuers Intensify Search in Cebu
Philippines Earthquake: Death Toll Reaches 69, Rescuers Intensify Search in Cebu
CEBU, Philippines – Rescuers are racing against time in the central Philippines, deploying backhoes and sniffer dogs in a desperate search for survivors trapped under collapsed buildings, a day after a powerful magnitude-6.9 earthquake struck the region. The confirmed death toll has climbed to at least 69, with officials fearing it will rise further as operations continue.
The devastating quake hit around 10 p.m. Tuesday, with its epicenter located just 19 kilometers northeast of Bogo, a coastal city in Cebu province, at a dangerously shallow depth of 5 kilometers. Bogo has reported approximately half of the fatalities.
Search and rescue efforts are being severely hampered by sporadic rain and extensive damage to bridges and roads. Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV, deputy administrator of the Office of Civil Defense, stated, “We’re still in the golden hour of our search and rescue. There are still many reports of people who were pinned or hit by debris.”
Among the hardest-hit areas are Bogo and outlying rural towns like Medellin and San Remigio, where collapsing walls and falling debris claimed lives, including three coast guard personnel, a firefighter, and a child. Rescuers face immense challenges, including landslides and boulders, particularly in mountain villages.
The Philippine government is assessing the damage to determine if international assistance will be requested. The United States, Japan, Australia, and the European Union have already extended condolences, with U.S. Ambassador MaryKay Carlson affirming readiness to support the response.
The earthquake, one of the most powerful to strike the central region in over a decade, caused widespread panic. Although a brief tsunami warning for Cebu, Leyte, and Biliran was later lifted, thousands of traumatized residents spent the night in open fields and parks, unwilling to return home amidst intermittent rains and over 600 detected aftershocks.
Adding to the region’s woes, this seismic event follows closely on the heels of a tropical storm that battered the central Philippines just last Friday, killing at least 27 people and causing widespread power outages. Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology director Teresito Bacolcol warned that rain-soaked mountainsides are now even more susceptible to land and mudslides. “This was really traumatic to people. They’ve been lashed by a storm then jolted by an earthquake,” Bacolcol remarked, highlighting the dual natural disasters impacting the resilient nation.
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