Rescue operations continued in central Philippines on Wednesday as teams deployed backhoes and sniffer dogs to search for survivors buried under collapsed houses and damaged buildings. The efforts came a day after a powerful earthquake claimed at least 69 lives, with officials warning that the toll could rise further.
The magnitude 6.9 quake struck at around 10 pm on Tuesday, devastating Bogo city and nearby rural towns in Cebu province. Authorities reported that an unspecified number of residents remain trapped. Rescue efforts have been slowed by intermittent rainfall as well as damaged bridges and blocked roads.
“We are still in the golden hour of our search and rescue,” said Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV, deputy administrator of the Office of Civil Defence. “There are still many reports of people who were pinned or hit by debris.”
The tremor originated from an undersea fault at a shallow depth of about five kilometres. Its epicentre was located 19 kilometres northeast of Bogo, a coastal city of 90,000 residents where nearly half of the confirmed deaths occurred.
The Philippine government is assessing the full scale of damage and may seek international assistance. Expressions of solidarity poured in from the United States, Japan, Australia and the European Union. “We stand ready to support the Philippine government’s response as friends, partners, allies,” US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson posted on X.
In one mountain village hit by a landslide, disaster officials attempted to bring in heavy equipment to clear boulders and speed up search operations. “It’s hard to move in the area because there are hazards,” said local officer Glenn Ursal, adding that several injured survivors had already been taken to hospitals.
Fatalities were also reported from Medellin and San Remigio towns. According to officials, three coast guard personnel, a firefighter and a child died after collapsing walls and falling debris struck them while they were fleeing a sports complex during the quake.
The earthquake, one of the strongest to hit the region in more than ten years, struck while many residents were indoors. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology issued a brief tsunami warning that urged coastal residents of Cebu, Leyte and Biliran to move to higher ground, warning of waves up to one metre. The alert was lifted after three hours, but thousands of people, traumatised by the quake, stayed overnight in open areas despite the rain.
The disaster struck just days after a tropical storm battered Cebu and surrounding provinces, leaving 27 people dead and causing widespread blackouts and mass evacuations.
Classes and government work were suspended in quake-hit towns while officials inspected buildings for safety. More than 600 aftershocks have been recorded since Tuesday night. Teresito Bacolcol, director of the seismology institute, cautioned that rain-saturated hillsides were at heightened risk of landslides and mudslides.
“This was really traumatic to people. They’ve been lashed by a storm and then jolted by an earthquake,” Bacolcol said. “I don’t want to experience what they’ve gone through.”
Situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines is one of the world’s most disaster-prone nations, facing frequent earthquakes, volcanic activity and up to 20 typhoons every year.
