AT least 31 people have been confirmed dead and dozens more injured after a magnitude 6.9 offshore earthquake struck the central Philippines late on Tuesday, toppling walls and buildings, damaging roads, and forcing residents to flee into the night as widespread power outages plunged cities into darkness.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the quake, triggered by movement along a local fault line at a shallow depth of 5 kilometres, was centred about 19 kilometres northeast of Bogo, a coastal city in northern Cebu province.
Authorities have warned that the death toll is likely to rise, with ongoing search and rescue efforts hampered by unstable terrain and debris.
“It’s hard to move in the area because there are hazards,” AP reported disaster mitigation officer Glenn Ursal saying, confirming that some survivors had been transported to hospital.
In Bogo alone, at least 14 people were killed, many as ceilings and walls collapsed on them while they slept. In Medellin town, near Bogo, 12 people from small family homes were crushed to death by falling debris, according to Gemma Villamor, head of the local disaster office.
Five additional fatalities were reported in San Remigio, including three coast guard officers, a firefighter and a child.
They were reportedly killed when walls collapsed as they attempted to flee an indoor basketball game disrupted by the quake, Vice Mayor Alfie Reynes told local radio.
Reynes made a public appeal for urgent supplies of food and clean water after damage to the town’s water system.
A firefighter based in Bogo, Rey Cañete, described the terrifying moment the quake struck. “We were in our barracks to retire for the day when the ground started to shake and we rushed out but stumbled to the ground because of the intense shaking,” he said.
A wall at the fire station collapsed, injuring Cañete and three other firemen. The group later administered first aid to several injured residents.
Residents in Bogo remained outdoors in open areas hours after the quake, fearful of aftershocks. “Several business establishments visibly sustained damages and the asphalt and concrete roads where they passed had deep cracks,” Cañete added, noting that an old Catholic church in nearby Daanbantayan had also suffered structural damage.
Cebu Governor Pamela Baricuatro said damage assessments were still under way in Bogo and surrounding towns. “It could be worse than we think,” she warned in a Facebook video message, adding that the true extent of the devastation would only become clear in daylight.
A brief tsunami warning was issued for Cebu and nearby provinces, including Leyte and Biliran, with authorities warning of possible waves up to one metre. The alert was later lifted after no unusual sea activity was detected, according to institute director Teresito Bacolcol.
Tuesday’s quake struck as Cebu and other areas in the Visayas region were still recovering from a tropical storm that battered central parts of the archipelago last Friday, leaving at least 27 people dead, displacing tens of thousands and causing widespread power outages.
The Philippines sits on the seismically active Pacific "Ring of Fire" and experiences frequent earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tropical storms, making it one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. - October 1, 2025
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