A magnitude 6.9 earthquake hit the central Philippines late on Tuesday evening, killing at the least 69 individuals and injuring greater than 140, in response to native authorities.
Right here is extra about what occurred and why the nation is weak to earthquakes.
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The place did the earthquake hit and the way unhealthy is it?
At 9:59pm native time on Tuesday (13:59 GMT) a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck 12 miles northeast of Bogo Metropolis in Cebu province within the nation’s central Visayas area.
Earthquake monitoring businesses say the depth of the earthquake was about 10km (6.2 miles), making it a shallow quake.
Earthquakes which can be thought-about “shallow” often trigger extra injury as a result of the epicentre is near the Earth’s floor – at a depth of between 0 and 70 km, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
The USGS mentioned it has recorded 4 aftershocks of magnitude 5 or increased for the reason that first quake within the Philippines on Tuesday. Folks within the Visayan Islands, which embody Cebu, Biliran and Leyte, felt the influence.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) issued a tsunami alert for the areas of Leyte, Biliran and Cebu province, however mentioned on Wednesday morning that it has now lifted the alert, citing no uncommon wave exercise.
How unhealthy is the injury?
Native authorities positioned elements of Cebu province in a “state of calamity” after the highly effective earthquake introduced down buildings and in addition lower energy throughout Cebu and close by islands, in response to the nation’s nationwide grid.
Bogo metropolis in Cebu, which has about 90,000 residents, was the worst hit with greater than 20 confirmed deaths together with 4 kids. A number of residential properties and industrial buildings have been badly broken.
Casualties have additionally been reported within the close by cities of Medellin and Tabuelan and within the municipality of San Remigio, a 16-minute drive from Bogo Metropolis.
Based on native media outlet SunStar Cebu, seven individuals together with personnel from the Bureau of Hearth Safety and three from the coastguard have been killed on the San Remigio Sports activities Complicated and evacuation centre, when elements of the roof collapsed throughout a basketball sport.
The earthquake has additionally introduced down historic church buildings and buildings within the Cebu province.
Native media movies circulating on social media confirmed how the traditional Saints Peter and Paul Parish on Bantayan Island in Cebu trembled after which collapsed when the earthquake struck.
WATCH: Saints Peter and Paul Parish in Bantayan Island in Cebu additionally collapsed following the earthquake late Tuesday, September 30, 2025. (📹: Bonal Robel) | through @feanneperez pic.twitter.com/Big1MMmm17
— ABS-CBN Information (@ABSCBNNews) September 30, 2025
Radyo Pilipinas, a radio station owned by the Presidential Broadcast Service, additionally confirmed pictures of how the earthquake had lowered a 139-year outdated church in Daanbantayan, north of Bogo, to mess.
“The present scenario in Daanbantayan highlights the extreme influence of the earthquake on heritage buildings, which kind a part of Cebu’s wealthy cultural and religious id,” Cebu Governor Pam Baricuatro mentioned in a submit on Fb.
UPDATE | Ito ang kalagayan ng 139-taong gulang na Daanbantayan Church o ang Archdiocesan Shrine of Sta. Rosa de Lima kasunod ng 6.9-magnitude na lindol na tumama sa Bogo Metropolis, Cebu noong Martes ng gabi (Setyembre 30, 2025).
Itinayo ang simbahan noong 1886 at idineklara itong… pic.twitter.com/k1Q6VqMMbK
— Radyo Pilipinas (@radyopilipinas1) September 30, 2025
What rescue efforts are underneath means?
Based on native media reviews, Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr has supplied his condolences to the households of the earthquake victims and mentioned the Bureau of Hearth Safety and the Philippine Nationwide Police are aiding in rescue and restoration efforts, whereas the Division of Vitality is working to revive energy to affected areas.
Hospitals have been overwhelmed in Bogo Metropolis and a few sufferers have additionally been evacuated because of the aftershocks which have shaken hospitals.
“Bogo Metropolis has already reached its most capability however sufferers are nonetheless pouring in,” a consultant of Senator Risa Hontiveros, chairperson of the Philippines’ Senate committee on well being, which is overseeing aid operations, instructed Al Jazeera.
The senator’s workers mentioned they visited the provincial hospital in Bogo Metropolis the place native medic Dr Yurangco mentioned the hospital had not incurred any main injury, however hospital workers had been overwhelmed by an inflow of sufferers.
The senator’s workers additionally instructed Al Jazeera that they’re at present specializing in delivering two vans of water to the hospital due to the necessity for consuming water within the neighborhood.
The Philippine Crimson Cross instructed CNN that it has been serving to with medical remedy and has handled at the least 60 individuals for accidents in three provinces.
Hours after the earthquake, native authorities in Cebu province appealed to the broader nation in addition to nationwide and worldwide help organisations for water and gear to help search and rescue efforts.
“It’s raining closely and there’s no electrical energy, so we actually need assistance, particularly within the northern half, as a result of there’s a shortage of water after provide traces have been broken by the earthquake,” Alfie Reynes, the vice mayor of San Remigio city, instructed DZMM radio.
In the meantime, in case of additional aftershocks, Cebu governor Baricuatro who has been visiting areas hit by the earthquake, has urged residents to “keep calm and transfer to open areas”.
In a Facebook post, she instructed individuals to “stay away from partitions or buildings which will collapse and keep alert for aftershocks”. She added that the provincial authorities was assessing the scenario and reaching out to municipal officers.
Why is the Philippines liable to earthquakes and is the nation ready?
The Philippines lies within the Pacific Ring of Hearth, a tectonic belt of volcanic arcs and oceanic trenches within the Pacific Ocean.
The nation experiences delicate earthquakes and volcanic exercise nearly day by day as a result of the Ring of Hearth is delicate to the common motion of the Earth’s tectonic plates colliding or sliding previous one another.
Indonesia, New Zealand, Japan, the US, Canada, Russia, Guatemala, Peru and Chile are additionally international locations positioned throughout the Ring of Hearth.
Phivolcs has been growing guides to alert residents about earthquakes and make them resilient to pure disasters. An alert concerning the newest earthquake was despatched out on the nation’s civil defence Fb group in addition to on different climate alert teams.
The United Nations, by means of its Anticipatory Motion Pilot Programme, has additionally been working with the federal government to empower native communities to answer earthquakes and different pure disasters.
In a press release final October, Gustavo Gonzalez, the UN resident coordinator within the Philippines, burdened that “recognising and incorporating native ingenuity” has been important to develop “tailored options” to cope with pure disasters within the nation.
