Death tolls continue to rise after the Philippines was jolted by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake.
According to BBC, the coast of Cebu City in the Philippines was hit with a powerful and deadly earthquake on Tuesday night, September 30, killing at least 69 people and injuring around 150 others.
The provincial government of Cuba declared a “state of calamity” after the death toll surpassed 60 and at least 611 aftershocks were recorded in the region.
Office of Civil Defense deputy administrator Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV told media, “We’re still in the golden hour of our search and rescue. There are still many reports of people who were pinned or hit by debris.”
Rescue workers, army troops, police and civilian volunteers are participating in the search operation for the survivors and victims.
The governor of Cebu, Pamela Baricuatro, in a video posted on social media, said, “We are still assessing the damage. But it could be worse than we think,” adding that she was coordinating with the president’s office to arrange aid.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology warned residents in the provinces of Cebu, Leyte and Biliran to stay away from the coast due to a “minor sea level disturbance” and to “be on alert for unusual waves.”
Notably, the earthquake came a week after back-to-back typhoons killed over a dozen people in the Philippines.
