A community designed as a safe haven—200 homes built to withstand fierce winds, funded by a charity for those who survived the catastrophic 2013 typhoon—has tragically become one of the deadliest sites in the wake of another natural disaster.
Late Tuesday, a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck Cebu Province in the Philippines, leaving behind a trail of destruction. By Wednesday, a grim toll of 69 confirmed deaths emerged, as rescue teams tirelessly sifted through the rubble, desperately searching for dozens still reported missing.
Wilson Ramos, an emergency worker with a local response unit, reported that at least 10 lives were lost in the SM Cares Village. This community was established just over a decade ago specifically for the survivors of Super Typhoon Haiyan (known locally as Yolanda), a storm that tragically killed more than 6,000 people across the Philippines.
“This area was built to safeguard storm survivors and people from high-risk zones,” Mr. Ramos stated. “While I cannot confirm if those who died were also Haiyan survivors—more than 10 years have passed—this village was certainly intended to offer them a new beginning.”
Rescue workers carried a body from the rubble of a house in Bogo City in Cebu Province, in the central Philippines, on Wednesday. A 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck the province late Tuesday.
This earthquake marks the deadliest to hit the Philippines since 2013.
In response to the widespread devastation, Cebu’s governor, Pamela Baricuatro, declared a state of emergency for the entire central Philippine province. Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro, a deputy administrator for the civil defense office, confirmed during a news briefing that immediate rescue efforts were concentrated on the northern tip of Cebu’s main island, particularly Bogo City, home to the SM Cares Village, which was completed in 2014.
“Right now, the absolute priority is search and rescue,” Mr. Alejandro emphasized.
Beyond accommodating survivors of Super Typhoon Haiyan, the SM Cares Village was also intended to provide housing for residents relocated from precarious coastal areas.
Mikee Empaces, an executive secretary in the governor’s office, detailed that the ceilings in many of the SM Cares Village homes collapsed when the quake hit.
Patients received treatment at makeshift stations outside a hospital in Bogo City on Wednesday.
“Some families were entirely wiped out, and in other instances, multiple members of a single family perished,” recounted Jeany Ynot, the chief of Bogo City’s disaster unit.
SM Cares, the philanthropic arm of one of the Philippines’ largest corporations and the developer of the village, did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent via email on Wednesday evening.
Damaged buildings in Bogo City. Response efforts were centering on the northern tip of Cebu’s main island, the authorities said.
Elsewhere, a massive landslide, triggered by the earthquake, buried numerous individuals under tons of soil and boulders, Ms. Ynot reported. The mountainous village of Binabag was particularly hard-hit.
Members of the Philippine Coast Guard and medical workers loading a ship in Manila on Wednesday.
Mr. Alejandro confirmed that additional personnel were requested for the Bogo City district hospital, which was struggling to cope with an overwhelming influx of patients.
The ruins of a religious site in Daanbantayan, in Cebu Province, on Wednesday.
Officials provided a grim assessment of the infrastructure damage: at least 11 bridges rendered impassable, vital roads blocked by landslides, and several government buildings—including Bogo City Hall, a municipal hall in another town, and a sports complex—either fully collapsed or severely damaged.
Ms. Empaces added that two to three hospitals were no longer operational, and power and communications had been completely severed in at least three municipalities.
Officials said infrastructure damage in Cebu Province was widespread.
Mr. Alejandro stated that public works teams were being dispatched to Cebu to assess building safety, with an urgent directive to prioritize hospitals, schools, and roads. In Bogo City alone, approximately 1,000 residents have been forced to shelter in open areas until their homes are certified safe.
“Our immediate goals are to restore power and ensure the structural integrity of all buildings,” Mr. Alejandro affirmed.