Massive 6.9 magnitude earthquake strikes Philippines, officials declare 'state of calamity'
PTC News Desk: At least 60 people have been killed and several others injured after a powerful 6.9 magnitude struck off the coast of the central Philippine island province of Cebu.
Rafaelito Alejandro, the deputy administrator of the Philippines Office of Civil Defence, confirmed the new death toll on Wednesday, a steep increase on the 26 people reported killed earlier by the country’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
“We are receiving additional numbers of reported casualties, so this thing is very fluid. We are receiving reports [that] as high as 60 individuals are reported to have perished in this earthquake,” Alejandro told reporters in Manila.
Local authorities have declared a “state of calamity” in parts of Cebu, according to local news outlets.
The quake caused power outages and brought down buildings. Local television showed motorcycle riders being forced to dismount from their bikes and hold onto the railings as a Cebu bridge rocked violently.
- PTC NEWS
