The number of deaths of an earthquake of 6.9 rude that struck the center of the Philippines increased to 69 Wednesday, said a disaster manager, while the authorities were showing a rescue effort to find survivors after one of the strongest earthquakes in the country in a decade.
The shallow earthquake struck late Tuesday off the island of Cebu, cutting electricity and harmful buildings. It was not immediately clear how many people were missing.
The death toll was 69 years at the end of the morning on Wednesday, said Jane Abapo of the Regional Civil Defense Bureau, citing data from the Provincial Catastrophes Agency which was subject to validation.
The National Disaster Agency said earlier that the toll could reach 60, 150 injured.
The Bogo City hospital near the epicenter of the earthquake was “exceeded”. Raffy Alejandro, head of civil defense, told journalists.
The Philippine Coast Guard has deployed a ship carrying dozens of doctors, nurses and other medical staff to Bogo, while President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assured the survivors of fast aid, with secretaries of the cabinet on the land towards rescue operations.
“We assess the damage, we assess the needs,” Marcos told journalists after distributing aid to Masbate, an island recovering from the impact of the Ragasa Super Typhon last week.
Mariano Martinez, the mayor of the municipality of San Remigio near Bogo, said that there had been 11 victims in the region, with victims as young as 12 years and that the number of deaths should climb.
“Our first main problem is to find the victims, to identify people who need help,” he told DZMM Radio, adding that many houses had suffered damage.
People cry after having identified the body of a victim outside the Cebu provincial hospital in Bogo City, Wednesday, October 1, 2025. (AP photo / Jacqueline Hernandez).
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The surveillance agencies of earthquakes put the depth of the earthquake at around 10 km (6.2 miles) and recorded several aftershocks, the strongest having a magnitude of 6. There was no threat of tsunami after the earthquake.
The Philippines are in the Pacific Ring of Fire, where volcanic activity and earthquakes are common. The country had two major earthquakes in January, without reported victims.
In 2023, an offshore earthquake of 6.7 magnitude killed eight people.
San Remigio vice-mayor, Alfie Reynes said that among people killed were people who played basketball in a sports complex when she collapsed.
She called for food and water for evacuated, as well as heavy equipment to help research and rescuers.
“It is strongly raining and there is no electricity, so we really need help, especially in the northern part because there is a rarity of water after the supply lines were damaged by the earthquake,” said Reynes.
The local media published videos of people who rushed out of their house while the floor trembled and the buildings collapsed, including a church that was over 100 years old.
Cebu, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Philippines, is home to 3.4 million people. The extent of damage was not immediately clear in other areas of the island.
The rescuers are looking for survivors under rubble in Bogo, Philippines, Wednesday October 1, 2025.
Favorite Photo / Aaron
Mactan-Cebu International Airport, the second busiest gateway in the country, has remained operational.
The Philippine seismology agency, Phivavolcs, said that nearly 800 aftershocks had been recorded and warned the affected areas to expect more tremors in the coming days, although their strength should gradually decrease.
He reported tremors as far south as Zamboanga del Norte, 330 km (at 205 miles).
In the city of Pilar, resident Archel Coraza said most of her family slept when their home started to tremble violently.
“I woke them up and we all rushed outside in the street,” he told Dzmm.
