Cebu (Philippines):, A powerful earthquake killed at least 73 people on Tuesday as it tore down modern buildings, destroyed historic churches and triggered terrified stampedes across popular tourist islands in the Philippines.
Fifteen of the confirmed fatalities were in Cebu, the country’s second most important city and a gateway to some of its most beautiful beaches, the national disaster agency reported.
The 7.1-magnitude quake killed another 57 people in the neighbouring island of Bohol, famed for its rolling “Chocolate Hills”, while one other person died on nearby Siquijor, which attracts tourists with its pristine white sands.
Authorities said the death toll could still climb, with authorities struggling to assess the extent of the damage in the worst-hit areas of Bohol where roads were impassable and power was cut.
The quake struck at 08:12 (0012 GMT) near Balilihan, a town of about 18,000 people on Bohol, at a depth of 20 kilometres, the USGS reported.
The town lies across a strait about 60 kilometres from Cebu.
Cebu, with a population of 2.5 million people, is the political, economic, educational and cultural centre of the central Philippines.
It hosts the country’s busiest port and the largest airport outside of the capital Manila.
It also has a major ship building industry.
Three of the people who died in Cebu were crushed to death in a stampede at a sports complex, where poor people had gathered to collect regular government cash handouts, according to the provincial disaster council chief, Neil Sanchez.
He said two other people were killed when part of a school collapsed on a car they had parked in, while four others died at a fish market that crumbled.
Aside from its beaches, Bohol is famous for its more than 1,000 small limestone “Chocolate Hills” that turn brown during the dry season.
One of the main tourist venues there, the Chocolate Hills Complex, was severely damaged and may be beyond repair, according to Delapan Ingleterra, head of a local tourist police unit.
There were no reports of foreign tourists being killed anywhere in the disaster zone. Today’s quake was followed by at least four aftershocks measuring more than 5.0 in magnitude. The epicentre was 629 kilometres from Manila.
The Philippines lies on the so-called Ring of Fire, a vast Pacific Ocean region where many of Earth’s earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.
More than 100 people were left dead or missing in February last year after an earthquake struck on Negros island, about 100 kilometres from the epicentre of Tuesday’s quake. (AFP)