Earthquake in Philippines: 69 Dead, 150 Injured In After Quake Jolts Cebu Province, Buildings and Roads Damaged
At least 69 people have been confirmed dead while more than 150 were injured after a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck off the coast of the central Philippine island province of Cebu, Al Jazeera reported on Wednesday. Citing the United States Geological Survey, Al Jazeera reported that the earthquake struck at 9:59 pm local time on Tuesday.
Cebu Island, October 2: At least 69 people have been confirmed dead while more than 150 were injured after a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck off the coast of the central Philippine island province of Cebu, Al Jazeera reported on Wednesday. Citing the United States Geological Survey, Al Jazeera reported that the earthquake struck at 9:59 pm local time on Tuesday (13:59 GMT) off Cebu Island's northern tip near Bogo. The city is a home to about 90,000 residents. The earthquake was followed by four earthquakes of magnitude 5 or higher in the area after the first tremor.
Quoting Rafaelito Alejandro, deputy administrator of the Philippines Office of Civil Defence, Al Jazeera reported that he confirmed the new death toll on Wednesday, a steep increase on the 26 people reported killed earlier by the country's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. "We are receiving additional numbers of reported casualties so this thing is very fluid. We are receiving reports (that) as high as 60 individuals are reported to have perished in this earthquake," Alejandro told reporters in Manila. Earthquake in Philippines: British Influencer Sam Pepper’s Livestream Captures Moment When 7.0 Magnitude Earthquake Hit Cebu City.
As per local news outlets, a "state of calamity" has been declared in parts of Cebu. The powerful earthquake caused power outages and brought down buildings. The Cebu provincial government put out a call on its official Facebook page for medical volunteers to assist in the aftermath of the quake according to Al Jazeera. "We are still assessing the damage," Pamela Baricuatro, the governor of Cebu, said in a video posted on social media. "But it could be worse than we think,"she said, adding that she has been in touch with the president's office and is asking for aid. ‘India Stands in Solidarity With Philippines at This Difficult Time’: PM Narendra Modi Condoles Loss of Lives in Philippines Earthquake.
Baricuatro later said that an unspecified number of houses and a hospital were damaged due to the earthquake and that emergency medical teams were being deployed to treat residents who were injured, Al Jazeera reported. According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology residents in the provinces of Cebu, Leyte and Biliran were urged to stay away from the coast due to a "minor sea level disturbance", and to "be on alert for unusual waves".
(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)