Published On 1 Oct 2025
A devastating earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 struck Cebu, a central province in the Philippines, resulting in at least 69 fatalities.
The quake hit around 10 p.m. local time (14:00 GMT) on Tuesday, causing numerous buildings-including homes, entertainment venues, and commercial establishments-in Bogo City and nearby rural areas to collapse, trapping an unknown number of residents beneath the rubble.
Rescue operations commenced immediately on Wednesday, with military personnel, law enforcement, and volunteers working alongside heavy machinery and search dogs to comb through debris in hopes of locating survivors.
Seismologists identified the earthquake’s epicenter approximately 19 kilometers northeast of Bogo, a coastal city with a population nearing 90,000. The tremor originated from a shallow undersea fault line at a depth of just 5 kilometers, intensifying its destructive impact. Bogo accounted for roughly half of the reported deaths.
Officials anticipate the death toll to climb as ongoing rescue efforts face challenges posed by intermittent rainfall and damaged infrastructure, including bridges and roads.
Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV, deputy administrator of the Office of Civil Defence, emphasized during a press conference, “We remain within the critical window for search and rescue. Numerous reports indicate individuals remain trapped or injured under debris.”
Fatalities were also confirmed in the outlying municipalities of Medellin and San Remigio. Among the victims were three coastguard members, a firefighter, and a child, all of whom succumbed to collapsing walls and falling debris while attempting to escape a basketball game disrupted by the earthquake at a local sports complex.
This seismic event ranks among the most intense to affect the central Philippines in over ten years.
The region was still grappling with the aftermath of Typhoon Bualoi, which struck just days earlier on Friday, claiming at least 27 lives primarily due to drowning and falling trees. The typhoon also caused widespread power outages and forced mass evacuations across cities and towns.
In response to the earthquake, schools and government offices in the affected areas were closed as authorities conducted safety inspections of buildings. Since the initial quake, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, led by director Teresito Bacolcol, has recorded more than 600 aftershocks.
Bacolcol warned that the saturated mountainsides, weakened by recent rains, are highly vulnerable to landslides and mudflows triggered by seismic activity.
“The community has endured a double blow-first the storm, then the earthquake,” Bacolcol remarked. “It’s a harrowing experience I hope no one has to face again.”
Situated along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” the Philippines is one of the globe’s most disaster-prone nations, frequently experiencing earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Additionally, the archipelago faces around 20 typhoons annually, compounding the challenges of disaster management and recovery.
