Bogo, Philippines (EFE).- At least 72 people have died and nearly 300 others were wounded following a magnitude 6.9 earthquake that shook central Philippines, officials said Thursday, as the region declared a state of calamity.
Of the fatalities, 30 occurred in Bogo City — close to the quake’s epicenter — and 22 in the neighboring municipality of San Remigio, provincial figures show.
About 600 houses were damaged, along with public and institutional buildings such as hospitals, churches and local government offices, in addition to infrastructure including roads and over ten bridges.
Military and coast guard units were mobilized for emergency response operations. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is scheduled to visit the disaster zone on Thursday.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said the Tuesday quake affected about 171,000 people, including more than 20,000 who have been displaced.
The quake struck at 9:59 p.m. local time (1:59 p.m. GMT) Tuesday, at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said. A localized tsunami alert was issued but later canceled.
In an official statement, Office of Civil Defense Deputy Secretary Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro said: “We have received reports that up to 60 persons have died because of the earthquake.” That earlier figure has since been revised upward.
Vice Governor Glenn Soco, in declaring the state of calamity, said the strong quake “has posed a great challenge to our province,” adding that the measure is necessary to “mobilize resources, provide immediate assistance to affected families and implement rehabilitation measures.”
The Philippines lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a region of frequent seismic and volcanic activity, which accounts for thousands of earthquakes each year. EFE
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