7.2 Magnitude Earthquake Hits The Philippines

7.2 Magnitude Earthquake Hits The Philippines

In the aftermath of a 7.2 earthquake that hit the central Philippines at 00:12 GMT, 93 people have been declared dead with the number still rising as rescue teams are trying to fight their way through the rubble caused by collapsed buildings.

The earthquake apparently struck directly below the Bohol Island, where the biggest number of casualties has been reported. Cebu was another city that suffered heavy damage both in historical buildings and in human lives.

For the moment 69 people were reported dead in Bohol, 15 in Cebu with one more fatality being reported from the island of Siquijor. Countless other people have been injured all across the Philippines.

Rescue efforts are being made nearly impossible because of the damaged roads and inner city commotion caused by the earthquake as well as from the cut power lines all across the region. Five people from the city of Cebu died when a fishing port collapsed adding to two others that passed away after a ceiling fell on a market. A stampede at a sports stadium in the same city of Cebu also caused an additional three deaths.

Government officials have declared a state of emergency with President Benigno Aquino being expected to visit the affected areas in the next days.

Posted by James Fried on Tuesday October 15 2013, 7:35 PM EDT. Ref: BBC. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0