A 6.9-MAGNITUDE earthquake struck the central Philippine province of Cebu on Tuesday night, leaving at least 69 people dead, according to the local disaster agency.
Most of the deaths were caused by fallen debris and occurred mostly in Bogo City, which was closest to the epicenter of the earthquake, and nearby municipalities including San Remigio, Office of Civil Defense (OCD) officer-in-charge Bernardo Rafaelito R. Alejandro IV told a news briefing on Wednesday.
He said authorities were focused on rescuing as many people as possible during the “golden hour” period — the first 24 hours after a quake when survival is more likely.
“We have already mobilized and deployed responding units from our uniformed personnel like the Armed Forces, Coast Guard, Philippine National Police and Bureau of Fire Protection,” he added.
At least 147 people were injured, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. pledged swift aid for survivors, saying Cabinet secretaries were on the ground leading relief operations, as he offered condolences to families who lost loved ones.
Cebu, a province of 3.4 million and one of the country’s top tourist hubs, sustained heavy damage, including on heritage churches, residential houses and schools, though Mactan-Cebu International Airport — the Philippines’ second-busiest gateway — remained open.
All ports and airports in the Visayas were fully operational, the Department of Transportation (DoTr) said in a statement.
“The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines and Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) immediately inspected our airports and ports in the Visayas after the earthquake,” Acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Z. Lopez said.
A yellow alert was declared over the Visayas grid after 27 power plants tripped because of the quake.
In an 8 a.m. advisory on Wednesday, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said the grid lost 1,444 megawatts (MW) after the plants tripped.
This was on top of 16 plants that have been unavailable before the quake, while one plant was running on derated capacity, bringing the total unavailable capacity to 1,654.7 MW, the agency said.
A yellow alert is issued when the operating margin is insufficient to meet the transmission grid’s contingency requirement. The NGCP said the Luzon and Mindanao grids were operating normally.
PRICE FREEZEIn a statement, the Department of Energy (DoE) said it was coordinating with power generation, transmission and distribution companies to ensure continued electricity supply in affected communities.
It ordered a 60-day price freeze on basic petroleum products in the province, including on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and kerosene.
“Stability of fuel prices and availability of supply are vital in times of disaster,” Energy Secretary Sharon S. Garin said in the statement. “The department is working closely with all partners to make sure that families and frontliners have access to essential energy resources they need during relief and recovery operations.”
As of 1 p.m., NGCP reported power failures at four transmission lines, including the Daanbantayan-Tabango 230-kV Line 1 and Line 2, Daanbantayan-Compostela 230-kV Line 1 and Line 2, Tabango-Kananga 230-kV Line 1 and Line 2 and Leyte-Luzon 350-kV HVDC Line.
Five generating units had come back online, it added.
Ms. Garin separately told lawmakers at her confirmation hearing that she would send a task force to the province to help restore power.
“They have to prepare, they have to create a team,” she said. “All their equipment will be transported. It will take them a day or two just to get to the area.”
Separately, Health Secretary Teodoro J. Herbosa said they would use the agency’s quick-response fund to send out a team to quake-affected areas.
The Health department’s medical teams in Tacloban and the Philippine Emergency Medical Assistance Team were on standby, he told a Senate budget hearing.
The Philippine Coast Guard in a statement said it had deployed 36 doctors, nurses and first responders along with thousands of food packs to Bogo City.
Meanwhile, the Trade department said it had ordered a 60-day price freeze on basic goods across the entire province of Cebu.
This is in line with the President’s order to fully mobilize state assets for the relief and rescue of affected residents, it said in a statement.
The agency sent teams to inspect markets, verify prices and guarantee adequate and continuous supply of basic goods in affected communities, it added.
Cultural agencies were coordinating with the Cebu Archdiocese and affected local government units to assess the damage on churches and heritage structures, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts said in a statement.
“While full attention remains focused on relief and rescue operations, we encourage our local partners to take initial protective measures such as safeguarding movable heritage, retrieving significant fragments and documenting the extent of the damage for future reference,” National Historical Commission of the Philippines Chairman Regalado Trota Jose, Jr. said in a separate statement.
The Philippines lies in the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, a belt of volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean where most of the world’s earthquakes strike. — Edg Adrian A. Eva, Sheldeen Joy Talavera, Ashley Erika O. Jose, Adrian H. Halili, and Brontë Lacsamana
