Death toll in Cebu earthquake rises to 72 - NDRRMC

Metro Manila, Philippines - The death toll in the 6.9-magnitude earthquake that struck Cebu has risen to 72, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported Thursday, Oct. 2.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visited the province on Thursday and is expected to lead a situation briefing.

The NDRRMC said 30 people were killed in Bogo City, the epicenter of the earthquake, 22 in San Remigio, 12 in Medellin, five in Tabogon, and one each in Borbon, Sogod, and Tabuelan.

The agency said the count is for validation.

It also said at least 294 individuals were injured after the tremor hit the waters off Bogo on Tuesday evening.

Authorities had to triage out and transfer patients from the “overwhelmed” Cebu Provincial Hospital in Bogo to different facilities.

According to the NDRRMC, the earthquake affected over 170,000 locals or 47,000 families across the province.

Its latest figures reflected affected locals in Bogo reaching 90,000, with authorities still working to learn the extent of those displaced.

Cebu province has been placed under a state of calamity to access quick response funds. The government has provided P5 million in aid so far.

The NDRRMC recorded nearly 600 damaged houses and 82 infrastructures. They have yet to peg the damage cost.

Communities in Cebu, as well as outside the province such as Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Iloilo, Negros Oriental, and Negros Occidental, also experienced power outages and interruptions after the tripping of several power plants of the Visayas grid.

State volcanologists recorded 2,613 aftershocks.