Rescuers hunt for survivors as Philippine quake kills 69

Rescue teams in the Philippines searched for survivors in mud and rubble on Wednesday and authorities urged help for hospitals inundated with the injured after the deadliest earthquake in more than a decade killed at least 69 people.

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Authorities said they feared the eventual toll would be even higher from the shallow 6.9-magnitude earthquake, which struck in waters off the central holiday island of Cebu late on Tuesday.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr assured survivors of swift assistance.

"We are assessing the damage, we are assessing the needs," he told reporters.

Buildings came crashing down, including a church that was more than 100 years old. Shops, homes and bridges were damaged across the island's northern coast and power was cut.

Aftershocks continued throughout Wednesday, as authorities set up mobile kitchens for hundreds of evacuees and raced to provide temporary power as night approached.

On Wednesday night, rescuers in orange and yellow hard hats used spotlights, a backhoe and bare hands to sift through the rubble of concrete slabs, broken wood and twisted iron bars for hours in a collapsed building in Bogo city. No survivor was found.