WITH PHOTOS, VIDEOS | Magnitude 6.9 Quake Jolts Cebu, Multiple Deaths Reported
#PrayForCebu | The powerful earthquake that struck off the coast of Cebu City late on Tuesday, Sept. 30, led to multiple deaths, power outages and damaged buildings and old churches in the region.
Multiple deaths were reported following the 6.9-magnitude earthquake in Cebu on Tuesday night, Sept. 30.
In Bogo City, there were already 13 confirmed deaths.
In San Remigio, five people were confirmed dead by San Remigio Municipal Police Station reported. The casualties include one Bureau of Fire Protection personnel, three Philippine Coast Guard personnel, and one child. Authorities reported that the BFP and PCG personnel died when a local complex collapsed due to the earthquake.
As of this report, two additional individuals remain unaccounted for, one inside the collapsed complex and another in Barangay Poblacion.
The powerful earthquake sent residents rushing out of their homes, damaging heritage churches and prompting the evacuation of a hospital in Cebu City.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the magnitude 6.9 tectonic earthquake struck at 9:59 p.m., with its epicenter located east of Bogo City in Cebu and its depth at 10 kilometers. Phivolcs warned that aftershocks were expected.
Residents reported that the centuries-old Archdiocesan Shrine of Santa Rosa de Lima in Daanbantayan town partially collapsed. On Bantayan Island, residents posted videos showing another heritage church, the Parroquia de San Pedro Apostol Bantayan, swaying during the quake and parts of its façade falling apart.
Intensity 6 was recorded in Cebu City and Villaba, Leyte; Intensity 3 in San Fernando, Cebu and Intensity 2 in Laoang, Northern Samar, Phivolcs said.
It advised residents in Biliran, Cebu and Leyte to stay away from coastal areas, and for residents to move farther inland amid threats of a tsunami.
Patients and staff of the Cebu City Medical Center were evacuated outside the building, according to Mayor Nestor Archival.
