Death toll in strong quake in Philippines rises to 69

MANILA -- The death toll in the 6.9-magnitude earthquake that struck Cebu province in the central Philippines on Tuesday night climbed to 69, the Philippines' Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said Wednesday.

Assistant Secretary Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro, deputy administrator for the OCD, told a public briefing that 30 died in Bogo City, the epicenter of the earthquake, 10 in Medellin town, 22 in San Remigio town, five in Tabogon town, and one each in the municipalities of Sogod and Tabuelan.

He said the victims died after they were crushed by the collapsed walls of houses and buildings.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) initially reported that at least 147 people were injured.

Alejandro did not give the latest figures on injuries and the missing people.

The death toll is expected to climb as emergency workers continue search and rescue operations for survivors trapped in the debris and collapsed buildings.

"We are waiting for our assessment team to complete their rapid assessment," Alejandro said in an earlier media briefing.

The province of Cebu has declared a state of calamity, enabling the government, particularly local government units, to quickly access emergency funds (calamity funds) to provide relief and rehabilitation, as well as to impose measures such as price freezes on essential goods to protect affected residents.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology initially reported that a 6.7-magnitude offshore earthquake struck Cebu province at 9:59 pm local time on Tuesday. The institute later revised the magnitude to 6.9, adding that the quake struck at a depth of 5 km, approximately 19 km northeast of Bogo City.

The tremor was also felt in many neighboring provinces in the central Philippines, as well as some regions in the southern Philippines.

The institute reported that it has recorded more than 600 aftershocks since Tuesday night.

The Philippines sits along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a region prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity.