At least 22 dead after major earthquake hits Philippines
The quake caused power lines to trip, leading to outages across Cebu and nearby central islands.
People gather on a street in Cebu after evacuating buildings following a strong earthquake in central Philippines on Sep 30, 2025. (Photo: AP/Jacqueline Hernandez)
At least 22 people have been killed following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake in the Philippines, a government official said, marking one of the country's most devastating disasters this year.
The earthquake that struck off the coast of Cebu City in the Philippines' central Visayas region just before 10pm on Tuesday (Sep 30) led to power outages and damaged buildings in the region.
Alfie Reynes, vice mayor of the town of San Remigio, confirmed the death toll of 22 in an interview with DZMM radio.
Another government official told Reuters by phone that at least 21 people have been reported dead in Cebu province, adding that verification is underway on the reported fatalities.
The New York Times earlier reported that at least 37 people have been injured due to the quake, along with the collapse of a few buildings and infrastructure including bridges.
Earthquake monitoring agencies had pegged the depth of the quake at around 10km and recorded multiple aftershocks, the strongest having a magnitude of 6. Another monitoring agency said there was no tsunami threat following the quake.
Cebu City has a population of nearly 1 million, according to the USGS.
The Cebu provincial government has put out a call on its official Facebook page for medical volunteers to assist in the aftermath of the quake.
"There could be people trapped beneath collapsed buildings," provincial rescue official Wilson Ramos told AFP, citing rescue efforts underway in San Remigio and Bogo. He said he did not know how many people were missing.
Overnight recovery efforts were hampered by the dark as well as aftershocks, he added.
The quake caused power lines to trip, leading to outages across Cebu and nearby central islands, the National Grid Corp of the Philippines said in an advisory, adding it was still assessing the extent of the damage.
Police Colonel Enrico Figueroa, chief of the Cebu City police, said some pole-mounted transformers exploded during the earthquake.
Cebu governor Pamela Baricuatro said an unspecified number of houses and a hospital were damaged in Bogo and elsewhere and that emergency medical teams were being deployed to treat residents who were pinned and injured.
“We’re sending already a trauma team there, doctors and nurses are on the way,” Baricuatro told the DZMM radio network. ”We need medicine, food, medical teams.”
Cebu firefighter Joey Leeguid told AFP from San Fernando town: "We felt the shake here in our station, it was so strong. We saw our locker moving from left to right, we felt slightly dizzy for a while but we are all fine now."
"IN SHOCK"
Martham Pacilan, a 25-year-old resident of the resort town of Bantayan, also near the epicentre, said he was at the town square near a church, which was damaged by the quake.
"I heard a loud booming noise from the direction of the church then I saw rocks falling from the structure. Luckily no one got hurt," he told AFP.
"I was in shock and in panic at the same time but my body couldn't move, I was just there waiting for the shake to stop."
Agnes Merza, a carer based in Bantayan, said her kitchen tiles had cracked.
"It felt as though we would all fall down. It's the first time I have experienced it. The neighbours all ran out of their homes. My two teenage assistants hid under a table because that's what they were taught in the boy scouts," the 65-year-old told AFP.
Philippine seismology agency Phivolcs warned of aftershocks and damage from the offshore tremor. It also warned that "strong currents and rapid changes of seawater level are expected".
"The concerned public is advised to be on alert for unusual waves," it said in an advisory.
The Philippines lies in the Pacific "Ring of Fire," where volcanic activity and earthquakes are common. It saw two major earthquakes in January with no casualties reported. In 2023, a 6.7 magnitude offshore earthquake killed eight people.
