Cebu in state of calamity

Death toll climbs to 69

- By MICHAEL PUNONGBAYAN

The province of Cebu has been placed under a state of calamity following the damage caused by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake on Tuesday night.

As of 9 p.m. yesterday, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said the number of fatalities climbed to 69.

The Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office pegged the injured at 293.

Bogo City accounts for most of the deaths with 30 people, followed by the municipalities of San Remigio with 22, Medellin with 10, Tabogon with five and Tabuelan and Sogod with one reported death each.

The temblor, which struck at 9:59 p.m. on Tuesday, had its epicenter 21 kilometers northeast of Bogo City at a shallow depth of five kilometers, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

The earthquake displaced about 27,000 families across seven local government units (LGUs) in Cebu.

In Bogo City, a distraught Isagani Jilig, whose wife and child are among those missing, joined about 100 people watching the rescue.

"I will never leave this site until I find them again. As a father, I have to be strong now more than ever," Jilig, 41, told AFP.

Fireman Erwin Castañeda said they had been searching for five hours but “we cannot give up.”

“We are talking about lives here. We will do everything that we can,” he told AFP.

Cebu Gov. Pamela Baricuatro conducted an aerial inspection and described the damage to roads, bridges and other infrastructure as "devastating." Collapsed bridges, cracked highways and ruined homes were reported across municipalities.

Even government facilities in Bogo City, including the city hall, bus terminal and port, sustained severe damage.

The Cebu Provincial Hospital in Bogo City was overwhelmed with casualties, as body bags were lined outside its compound.

To assist bereaved families, a booth for the issuance of death certificates was set up near the hospital.