Deadly 6.9 Quake Kills Dozens in Philippines

By Staff, Agencies

A powerful 6.9 magnitude quake struck near the city of Bogo in Cebu province late Tuesday, killing at least 60 and damaging buildings across central Philippines.

Emergency services were reportedly scrambling to find survivors on Wednesday, with military troops, police and civilian volunteers carrying out door-by-door searches – aided by sniffer dogs.

Civil Defense officials at both the national and local level said at least 60 people had been killed. More than 150 were believed to have been injured.

The hospital in Bogo, a coastal city of around 90,000 people, had been “overwhelmed,” Civil Defense official Raffy Alejandro told reporters. Pictures showed streets in the city littered with debris Wednesday morning.

Rescuers were moving heavy equipment to a mountain village hit by a landslide, Bogo disaster officer Rex Ygot reported.

At least 13, including Coast Guard and a firefighter, died when a sports complex collapsed during a basketball game in San Remigio, said Red Cross Chairman Richard Gordon.

“Some churches partially collapsed, and some schools had to be evacuated,” Gordon said. “This was a sleeper,” he said of the late-night quake. “It crept up on us.”

In Daanbantayan, just north of Bogo, the facade of the St. Rita Church collapsed and there was a large crack down the side of the Municipal Hall.

The quake severely damaged heritage sites in Daanbantayan, a key part of Cebu’s cultural and spiritual identity, said Governor Pam Baricuatro on Facebook.

Social media footage from Cebu showed a mall fire, a damaged McDonald’s, and beauty queens fleeing the stage as the quake hit.

The Philippine Red Cross said there were reports at schools in Cebu of debris, cracks in buildings and a temporary power failure.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology [Phivolcs] recorded multiple aftershocks but canceled the tsunami alert for Leyte, Biliran, and Cebu early Wednesday.

Phivolcs reported a minor eruption at Taal volcano, sending a 2,500-meter plume northwest; the alert remains at Level 1.

Governor Baricuatro urged calm, saying the presidential office promised immediate aid to Cebu. “Help is coming,” she said in a video message.

The Medellin municipality in Cebu added in its Facebook post that classes have been suspended until further notice, and work has been suspended until facilities and buildings are assessed.

More than half a million people felt very strong shaking across the Visayan Islands, which include Cebu, Biliran and Leyte, according to estimates from the USGS.

The Philippines sits along the Ring of Fire, a 25,000-mile [40,000-kilometer] arc of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean that hosts more than half of the world’s volcanoes.