Dozens Killed In 6.9 Magnitude Earthquake, Death Toll Expected To Rise In Central Philippines Jenn Jordan October 1, 2025 at 6:15 AM 0 Rescuers used backhoes and sniffer dogs to look for survivors in collapsed houses and other damaged buildings in the central Philippines Wednesday, a day after an ea...
- - Dozens Killed In 6.9 Magnitude Earthquake, Death Toll Expected To Rise In Central Philippines
Jenn Jordan October 1, 2025 at 6:15 AM
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Rescuers used backhoes and sniffer dogs to look for survivors in collapsed houses and other damaged buildings in the central Philippines Wednesday, a day after an earthquake killed at least 69 people.
The death toll was expected to rise from the magnitude-6.9 earthquake that hit at about 10 p.m. Tuesday and trapped an unspecified number of residents in the hard-hit city of Bogo and outlying rural towns in Cebu province.
The quake's depth was reported at about 6 miles, which increases the likelihood of strong shaking on land.
Sporadic rain and damaged bridges and roads have hampered the race to save lives, officials said.
"We're still in the golden hour of our search and rescue," Office of Civil Defense deputy administrator Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV said in a news briefing. "There are still many reports of people who were pinned or hit by debris."
CCTV footage captured some of the initial, terrifying moments, as buildings swayed violently and families rushed to safety.
Calape sits in the central Philippines, not far from Cebu City, one of the country's largest metropolitan hubs. It's also relatively close to Tacloban, which many remember as the city devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013.
The region is also a popular tourist destination, with Bohol known for its Chocolate Hills and white-sand beaches.
Deaths also were reported from the outlying towns of Medellin and San Remigio, where three coast guard personnel, a firefighter and a child were killed separately by collapsing walls and falling debris while trying to flee to safety from a basketball game in a sports complex that was disrupted by the quake, town officials said.
The earthquake was one of the most powerful to batter the central region in more than a decade and it struck while many people slept or were at home.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology briefly issued a tsunami warning and advised people to stay away from the coastlines of Cebu and the nearby provinces of Leyte and Biliran due to possible waves of up to 3 feet.
No such waves were reported and the tsunami warning was lifted more than three hours later, but thousands of traumatized residents refused to return home and chose to stay in open grassy fields and parks overnight despite intermittent rains.
Cebu and other provinces were still recovering from a tropical 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 lies along the seismically active boundaries of the Philippine Sea Plate, which has produced some of the world's deadliest earthquakes and tsunamis. Among them: the 1976 Moro Gulf earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 5,000 people, and the 1990 Luzon earthquake, which left 2,400 dead.
The contributed to this report.
Weather.com lead editor Jenn Jordan explores how weather and climate weave through our daily lives, shape our routines and leave lasting impacts on our communities.
Source: "AOL General News"
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