At least 72 people have died from the magnitude-6.9 earthquake that hit the central Philippines Tuesday. On Thursday, local officials said nearly 300 people were left injured. Disaster officials said there have not been reports of additional missing people. More than 170,000 people were affected, including many who have refused to return home because they were traumatized and fearful of aftershocks. The earthquake damaged or destroyed 87 buildings and nearly 600 houses in Bogo, a relatively new and progressive coastal city of about 90,000, and outlying towns. Bridges and concrete roads were damaged and a seaport in Bogo collapsed The quake was triggered around 10 p.m. by a shallow undersea fault line that Filipino seismologists said has not moved for at least 400 years. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. flew to Bogo Thursday to assess the damage and offer aid and support to survivors while mourning with families of the victims. Just days ago, the president was in the central region after a fierce storm left at least 37 people dead and lashed more than half a million people, including in Cebu province. CCTV footage captured some of the initial, terrifying moments during the quake, as buildings swayed violently and families rushed to safety. Calape sits in the central Philippines, not far from Cebu City, one of the country's largest metropolitan hubs. It's also relatively close to Tacloban, which many remember as the city devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. The region is also a popular tourist destination, with Bohol known for its Chocolate Hills and white-sand beaches. Deaths also were reported from the outlying towns of Medellin and San Remigio, where three coast guard personnel, a firefighter and a child were killed separately by collapsing walls and falling debris while trying to flee to safety from a basketball game in a sports complex that was disrupted by the quake, town officials said. The earthquake was one of the most powerful to batter the central region in more than a decade and it struck while many people slept or were at home. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology briefly issued a tsunami warning and advised people to stay away from the coastlines of Cebu and the nearby provinces of Leyte and Biliran due to possible waves of up to 3 feet. No such waves were reported and the tsunami warning was lifted more than three hours later, but thousands of traumatized residents refused to return home and chose to stay in open grassy fields and parks overnight despite intermittent rains. The Philippines lies along the seismically active boundaries of the Philippine Sea Plate, which has produced some of the world's deadliest earthquakes and tsunamis. Among them: the 1976 Moro Gulf earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 5,000 people, and the 1990 Luzon earthquake, which left 2,400 dead. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Weather.com lead editorJenn Jordanexplores how weather and climate weave through our daily lives, shape our routines and leave lasting impacts on our communities.
