CEBU, Philippines—The death toll from a powerful, shallow earthquake that struck the central Philippines has climbed to over 60 on Wednesday, with scores of injured patients overwhelming hospitals on the island of Cebu. In the chaotic aftermath, emergency workers were seen carrying dozens of body bags away from affected areas.
The magnitude 6.9 quake, which the US Geological Survey (USGS) placed at a shallow depth, struck at 9:59 p.m. (1359 GMT) Tuesday off the northern tip of Cebu, near Bogo, a city of 90,000 residents.
Hospitals Overwhelmed and Damage Report
The Cebu Provincial Hospital in Bogo quickly became saturated with casualties. Injured children cried and adults screamed while receiving treatment on beds set up beneath blue tents on the hospital driveway. Patients were moved outside due to fears of further harm from hundreds of aftershocks that rocked the region overnight.
Office of Civil Defence deputy administrator Rafaelito Alejandro confirmed the rising casualty figures:
- Death Toll: Over 60 people reported killed so far.
- Injuries: The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council listed 147 injured across the central islands.
- Hospital Capacity: Rescuers reported that the hospital in Bogo was overflowing, forcing staff to transfer some patients to other facilities, including the provincial capital, Cebu City, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) away.
Cebu provincial governor Pamela Baricuatro posted that due to the “high volume of patients with serious injuries, the medical staff tended to some of them outside the hospital.”
Structural Damage and Eyewitness Accounts
The quake caused widespread structural damage, capturing dramatic footage shared by residents:
- Church Collapse: An old Catholic church on Bantayan island saw its belfry tumble into the courtyard after the building was seen violently swaying.
- Commercial Damage: In Cebu city, an online shoe merchant hid under a restaurant table after a shopping mall’s metal ceiling began collapsing. A commercial building and a school in Bantayan, and a fast food restaurant in Bogo were also heavily damaged.
- Infrastructure: A Cebu bridge violently rocked, forcing motorcyclists to hold onto the railings. Village roads in Tabogon town sustained five-centimeter (two-inch) cracks.
The quake caused power lines to trip across Cebu and nearby central islands, though power was largely restored shortly after midnight. Rescue efforts were hampered overnight by darkness and continuous aftershocks, with the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology reporting 379 aftershocks in the region.
The Philippines is situated on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity, making earthquakes a near-daily occurrence.
