Journalism of Courage
An offshore earthquake of magnitude 6.9 struck Cebu province in central Philippines late Tuesday, killing at least 69 people and injuring several others. The tremor, set off by a local fault, cut power and forced residents to evacuate homes.
The epicenter was about 17 km northeast of Bogo, a coastal city of about 90,000 people, where at least 14 residents died, disaster-mitigation officer Rex Ygot told AP. Officials expected the toll to rise as workers moved equipment to clear landslide debris in a mountain village.
“It’s hard to move in the area because there are hazards,” Glenn Ursal, another disaster-mitigation officer told AP, adding some survivors were brought to a hospital.
Firefighter Rey Cañete said the quake damaged walls, roads and a fire station in Bogo. He and fellow firemen were injured while fleeing their barracks. They provided first-aid to at least three residents, who were injured by falling debris and collapsed walls.
Hundreds of residents gathered in open fields through the night. Business establishments, roads and a church in nearby Daanbantayan were damaged. Several business establishments visibly sustained damages, Cañete said, adding that an old Roman Catholic church in Daanbantayan town near Bogo was also damaged.
Six people, including three coast guard personnel, a firefighter and a child, were killed separately in San Remigio town, south of Bogo, the town’s vice mayor, Alfie Reynes, told DZMM radio network without detailing how the victims died. Reynes appealed for food and water, saying San Remigio’s water system was damaged by the earthquake.
Cebu Gov. Pamela Baricuatro said the extent of the damage and injuries in Bogo and outlying towns in the northern section of the province would not be known until daytime. “It could be worse than we think,” he said in a video message posted on Facebook.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology briefly issued a tsunami warning and advised people to stay away from the coastlines in Cebu and in the nearby provinces of Leyte and Biliran due to possible waves of up to 1 meter (3 feet). Teresito Bacolcol, director of the institute, said the tsunami warning was later lifted with no unusual waves being monitored.
Cebu and other provinces were still recovering from a storm that battered the central region on Friday, leaving at least 27 people dead mostly due to drownings and falling trees, knocking out power in entire cities and towns and forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people.
The Philippines, located on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” records frequent earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and about 20 typhoons each year.
