THE aftermath of Tuesday evening’s magnitude 6.9 earthquake in Bogo City, Cebu, continues to unfold as the reported death toll has risen to 60, according to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD).
Officer-in-charge Assistant Secretary Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV emphasized the fluidity of the situation as additional casualties are still being reported.
The earthquake, which struck at 9:59 p.m. with an epicenter located 17 km from Bogo City, has prompted President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to order immediate aid to affected communities. The province of Cebu has been placed under a state of calamity.
Beyond the immediate human impact, the earthquake has also caused significant structural damage, including the Archdiocesan Shrine of Santa Rosa de Lima in Daanbantayan town. The Archdiocese of Cebu has advised parishes in northern Cebu to refrain from using churches for Mass until their safety can be assured.
In addition to the ongoing humanitarian crisis, the Visayas power grid is facing challenges, with several power plants experiencing forced outages in the wake of the earthquake.
The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines has issued a yellow alert for Wednesday, indicating insufficient operating margin to meet the transmission grid’s contingency requirements. As the region grapples with the earthquake’s impact, over 300 aftershocks have been recorded by PHIVOLCS, and classes and work have been suspended in many areas.
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