The historic Parish of Saint Peter the Apostle church in Bantayan partially collapsed after an earthquake of 6.9 magnitude shook central Philippines on Tuesday night. A video of the heritage church in Cebu with lights and parts of its outer facade collapsing has gone viral on social media.
Lights flicker as church trembles during earthquake
The video showed the lights flickering as the church trembled during the quake and other visuals then showed a part of the structure collapsing even as the onlookers flee the spot.
25-year-old Martham Pacilan, a resident of Bantayan, stated that he was at the town square near a church when the tremors started.
31 people killed in strong earthquake in Philippines
An offshore earthquake of magnitude 6.9 collapsed walls of houses and buildings late Tuesday in a central Philippine province, killing at least 31 people, injuring many others and sending residents scrambling out of homes into darkness as the intense shaking cut off power, officials said.
The epicentre of the earthquake, which was set off by movement in a local fault at a depth of 5 kilometres, was about 19 kilometres northeast of Bogo, a coastal city of about 90,000 people in Cebu province where at least 14 residents died, disaster-mitigation officer Rex Ygot told The Associated Press by telephone.
The death toll in Bogo was expected to rise. Workers were trying to transport a backhoe to hasten search and rescue efforts in a cluster of shanties in a mountain village hit by a landslide and boulders, he said.
Hundreds of terrified residents gather outside their homes
Hundreds of terrified residents gathered in the darkness in a grassy field near the fire station and refused to return home hours after the earthquake struck in Bogo in Cebu province.
Several business establishments visibly sustained damages and the asphalt and concrete roads where they passed had deep cracks, Cañete said, adding that an old Roman Catholic church in Daanbantayan town near Bogo was also damaged.
Tsunami warning issued
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology issued a tsunami warning and advised people to stay away from the coastlines in Cebu and in the nearby provinces of Leyte and Biliran due to possible waves of up to 1 metre .
The development comes at a time when the Central Philippine provinces were still recovering from a storm that hit on Friday, leaving at least 27 people dead mostly due to drownings and falling trees, knocking out power in entire cities and towns and forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people.
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