MANILA, Oct 1 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- The death toll from a magnitude 6.9 earthquake that hit off the island province of Cebu in the central Philippines reached 69, with 147 others injured, the Philippines’ government officials said Wednesday, Kyodo News reported.
The temblor struck at 9.59 pm Tuesday in waters 19 kilometres northeast of Bogo in the island's north, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
Around 1,000 have been displaced, many of whom are afraid to return to their homes due to the aftershocks, according to an official from the government's Office of Civil Defence.
The number of victims is expected to rise as rescue operations continue and as more reports of damage come in.
Rescuers continued to comb through rubble of collapsed structures. In the town of San Remigio, a portion of a gymnasium collapsed while a basketball game was in progress.
Local governments shared photos online of damaged churches, including the Archdiocesan Shrine of Santa Rosa de Lima, a historical landmark in Daanbantayan to the north of Bogo, roads and buildings, and a power outage was reported in many areas.
Mactan-Cebu International Airport, the gateway to Cebu, a key tourist destination in the Philippines, has been operating despite temporary disruptions following the earthquake.
-- BERNAMA-KYODO
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