Powerful 6.9-magnitude quake in Philippines kills 69, causes mass damage in Cebu
The damage ‘could be worse than we think’, Cebu governor warns as rescue continues in a province still reeling from Friday’s storm
Rescuers scrambled to find survivors on Wednesday. Army troops, police and civilian volunteers backed by backhoes and sniffer dogs were deployed on Wednesday to carry out house-to-house searches for survivors.
The epicentre of the earthquake, which was set off by movement in an undersea fault line at a dangerously shallow depth of 5km (three miles), was about 19km (12 miles) northeast of Bogo, a coastal city of about 90,000 people in Cebu, where about half of the deaths were reported.
The death toll in Bogo was expected to rise, according to officials, who said intermittent rain and damaged bridges and roads were hampering the race to save lives.