The central Philippines is reeling from the aftermath of a devastating earthquake. Officials confirmed on Thursday, October 2, 2025, that the death toll from the powerful tremor has climbed to 72, as search operations for missing individuals conclude. The priority now turns to assisting the hundreds injured and the thousands left without homes.
Three additional victims were recovered overnight Wednesday from the collapsed remains of a hotel in Bogo city, located near the epicenter of the 6.9-magnitude quake that struck on Tuesday, September 30, 2025.
Junie Castillo, spokesman for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, stated, “We have zero missing, so the assumption is all are accounted for.” He added that some rescue units in Cebu province have been directed to demobilize.
The government reported that 294 people sustained injuries, and approximately 20,000 residents were forced to evacuate their homes. Nearly 600 houses were completely destroyed across northern Cebu, leaving many to sleep outdoors as the region continues to experience hundreds of unsettling aftershocks.
“One of the challenges is the aftershocks. It means residents are reluctant to return to their homes, even those houses that were not (structurally) compromised,” Mr. Castillo explained.
On Thursday, Cebu provincial governor Pamela Baricuatro issued an appeal for assistance, highlighting the critical need for safe drinking water, food, clothes, and temporary housing. She also requested volunteers to help sort and distribute the incoming aid.
President Ferdinand Marcos visited Cebu on Thursday with senior aides to survey the extensive damage. He also toured a partially damaged housing project in Bogo, originally built for survivors of Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, one of the deadliest natural calamities to ever hit the Philippines. Eight bodies were reportedly recovered from collapsed houses within this project following the recent quake, according to a local government statement.
A small village chapel in Bogo is now serving as a temporary refuge for 18-year-old Diane Madrigal and 14 of her neighbors, whose homes were annihilated. Their belongings and food items are now spread across the chapel’s pews.
“The entire wall (of my house) fell so I really don’t know how and when we can go back again,” Ms. Madrigal recounted. “I am still scared of the aftershocks up to now, it feels like we have to run again.”
Lucille Ipil, a 43-year-old mother of four, joined a 10-meter line of residents on a Bogo roadside, all desperately awaiting a truck to deliver water. “The earthquake really ruined our lives. Water is important for everyone. We cannot eat, drink or bathe properly,” she expressed. “We really want to go back to our old life before the quake but we don’t know when that will happen… Rebuilding takes a long time.”
Many areas remain without electricity, and dozens of patients are sheltering in tents outside the damaged Cebu provincial hospital in Bogo. “I’d rather stay here under this tent. At least I can be treated,” 22-year-old Kyle Malait said, awaiting treatment for her dislocated arm.
The regional civil defense office estimates that over 110,000 people across 42 communities affected by the quake will require support to rebuild their homes and restore their livelihoods.
Earthquakes are a frequent occurrence in the Philippines, which lies on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”—a volatile arc of intense seismic activity that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin. While most tremors are too minor to be felt, powerful and destructive quakes strike unpredictably, as current technology cannot forecast their exact timing or location.