Death toll from strong quake in central Philippines rises to 31 as search continues

Rescuers have searched collapsed buildings for survivors after a powerful 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck the central Philippines, killing at least 31 people on Cebu Island, with fears the toll could rise.

The shallow quake hit at 9:59 pm (1359 GMT) on Tuesday off the island’s northern end near Bogo, a city of 90,000 people, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Cebu Governor Pamela Baricuatro said the provincial hospital in Bogo recorded 25 deaths from the city alone.

"Because of the high volume of patients with serious injuries, the medical staff tended to some of them outside the hospital," she posted on Facebook.

Rescuers earlier reported six more deaths elsewhere in the province.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said 147 people were injured across the central islands, where 22 buildings were damaged.

Dramatic footage showed an old Catholic church on Bantayan Island shaking before its belfry collapsed into the courtyard.

Local television showed a Cebu bridge violently rocking, forcing riders to dismount their motorcycles and cling to railings.

'The mall started shaking'

Buildings were damaged as far as Cebu city, 100km south of Bogo, where online shoe merchant Jayford Maranga, 21, hid under a restaurant table as a shopping mall’s metal ceiling collapsed.

"My friend and I ate at the food court near closing time, and then, bang! It was as if the Earth stopped spinning. And then the mall started shaking," he said. His friend suffered minor injuries.

The Cebu government appealed for medical volunteers.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the region had been rocked by 379 aftershocks.

Power outages affected Cebu and nearby islands before being restored after midnight, the National Grid Corp. said.

Officials reported the collapse of a commercial building and a school on Bantayan, as well as heavy damage to a fast food restaurant in Bogo.

The USGS initially reported the quake as magnitude 7.0 before revising it down.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no tsunami threat.

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Source: TRT