A powerful earthquake struck off the central Philippine island of Cebu on Tuesday night, killing at least 61 people, injuring more than 140, and causing widespread damage to heritage churches, homes and infrastructure. Power outages were also reported across parts of the Visayas region.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) initially recorded the tremor at magnitude 6.7 before revising it to 6.9. The quake struck at 9.59pm local time, with its epicentre located 21 kilometres north-east of Bogo City at a shallow depth of just five kilometres.
According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office confirmed on Wednesday morning that at least 27 of the fatalities occurred in Bogo City. A further 147 people were reported injured, while no missing persons have been confirmed so far.
Authorities said emergency response teams were deployed overnight to assist survivors and assess damage. Images circulating on social media showed collapsed structures, cracked roads, and devastated church facades, many of them centuries old. Officials warned of possible aftershocks and urged residents to remain vigilant as rescue operations continue.
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