At least 19 dead as 6.7-magnitude earthquake strikes Philippines

Manila, Oct 1 (IANS) At least 19 people were killed and dozens injured as a 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit Cebu province in the central Philippines on Tuesday night, local media reported Wednesday.

Authorities updated the death toll to 19, amid ongoing rescue efforts and fears that the number could rise further.

Citing the provincial information office, local newspaper SunStar Cebu reported that 13 people were killed in Bogo City, the quake's epicenter, while four others died in San Remigio town in northern Cebu, Xinhua news agency reported.

The municipality of Medellin in Cebu reported at least one death and multiple injuries, along with damage to two bridges.

SunStar Cebu added that victims of the quake continued to pour into Cebu Provincial Hospital (Bogo City), straining medical staff.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology initially reported that a 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck Cebu province at 9:59 p.m. local time on Tuesday. The institute later revised the magnitude to 6.9, adding that the quake struck at a depth of 5 kilometers, approximately 19 kilometers northeast of Bogo City.

The tremor was also felt in many neighboring provinces in the central Philippines, as well as some regions in the southern Philippines.

A number of village roads also sustained damage.

The quake caused power lines to trip, leading to outages across Cebu and nearby central islands, though power was restored shortly after midnight in Cebu and four other major central islands, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines said in an updated advisory.

The Philippines sits along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a zone prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity.

--IANS

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