Destructive earthquake shakes Cebu, kills scores of people, leaves over 100 missing

Image from the Department of Science and Technology - Phivolcs

A powerful magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck off the coast of northern Cebu and neighboring islands just before 10 pm of Sept. 30, 2025, killing scores of people, injuring more than 100 others, and causing massive destruction in northern Cebu.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the earthquake, which was tectonic in origin, struck at an estimated depth of 5 kilometers about 19 kilometers northeast of Bogo City at 9:59 pm of Sept. 30. As of 8 am of Oct. 1, the Philippine Seismic Network has recorded 722 aftershocks with magnitude as strong as 4.8.

Intensity 7, the strongest intensity, was felt in Bogo City and in the towns of Daanbantayan, Medellin, San Remigio and Tabuelan in northern Cebu, according to Phivolcs. Intensity 6 was recorded in Cebu City, capital of Cebu province.

Cebu, which is situated in a seismically active region, last experienced a massive quake when the magnitude 7.2 Bohol earthquake also rocked the island and caused severe damage to buildings and infrastructure on Oct. 15, 2013.

Impact

As of noon Wednesday, Office of Civil Defense Assistant Secretary Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV said in a TV interview that 69 people have been reported dead while more than 140 were listed as missing in the aftermath of the quake.

Verification was being conducted, Alejandro said. Search and rescue operations continued, with more emergency response teams from the national government and other local government units arriving in northern Cebu.

Houses and multiple structures collapsed, including a sports complex in San Remigio where a basketball game was being held when the tremor struck and the century-old Archdiocesan Shrine of Santa Rosa de Lima in Daanbantayan. The Saints Peter and Paul church on Bantayan Island also sustained damage.

Roads and bridges cracked, while a rockfall in Bogo City struck houses and killed the occupants, multiple reports said.

Phivolcs issued a tsunami advisory shortly after the seismic event, warning of minor sea level disturbance along the coasts of Cebu, Leyte and Biliran provinces. It was lifted about three hours later.

The entire Cebu province has been placed under a state of calamity through Executive Order No. 57 and a Provincial Board resolution, according to a social media post by the Cebu Province. The Capitol has set up a command center to coordinate search and rescue as well as relief efforts. (Ventures Cebu/Marites Villamor-Ilano)