(NEW YORK) — A powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake killed at least 69 people in the Philippines, officials said on Wednesday.
The quake was recorded at 9:59 p.m. local time on Tuesday with the centre at 19 km east-northeast of Bogo City, Philippines, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said. After the offshore earthquake, the institute recorded several aftershocks, many more than 4-magnitude.
The institute issued a tsunami warning due to the disturbance, which was later canceled.
At least 69 people were reported dead on Wednesday, officials said. The office of Civil Defense Deputy Administrator Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV, said the number of fatalities would likely remain less than three digits.
He also added that they have evacuated almost 1,000 people from the city.
The earthquake nterrupted the Miss Asia Pacific International 2025 beauty pageant in Cebu City, Philippines. In one of the videos, candidates are seen on the catwalk when the earthquake hits. Everyone was safe after the incident, according to a statement released by the organizers.
Rescue and relief operations are underway, with doctors and nurses deployed from Manila to quake-hit Bogo with the Philippine Coast Guard. The Philippine Air Force was continuing its “rescue and relief operations,” as per the Office of Civil Defense’s Facebook account.
The emergency response is expected to continue as Tropical Depression Paolo slightly intensified while moving west over the Philippine Sea, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said in a brief issued at 5 p.m. local time.
That storm may make landfall over Isabela or northern Aurora on Friday, the brief said.
Last week, Typhoon Bualoi and before that Super Typhoon Ragasa hit the Philippines.
Philippine Area of Responsibility is hit by more tropical cyclones than anywhere in the world, with an average of 20 per year, according to the Philippines Atmospheric Geophysical And Astronomical Services Administration.
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