Death toll rises to 72 after powerful earthquake in Philippines

According to officials, the central Philippines’ death toll from the magnitude 6.9 earthquake reached 72.

Authorities on Thursday changed their focus from conducting search operations to helping the injured and the displaced, according to National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) spokesman Junie Castillo.

Three more bodies were found overnight in a hotel in Bogo City, close to the epicentre, from rescue teams. Some rescue organizations in Cebu province have been given the directive to “demobilize” after all victims have been found.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. made plans for a “tent city” to accommodate residents from the 600 destroyed homes and the tens of thousands who fear returning to their intact homes as a result of ongoing aftershocks during his Thursday visit to the disaster zone. He promised to build a tent city that can be constructed quickly and quickly and will protect residents from rain, according to his promise to reporters.

In northern Cebu, the government has documented 294 injuries and about 20 000 evacuees, many of whom are sleeping outside. More than 110, 000 people in 42 different communities will need assistance in rebuilding their homes and restoring their lives, according to regional civil defense officials.

Marcos pledged to provide 10, 000 pesos ($171) to each family that lost their home by day’s end and to restore electricity to the city of 90,000 in Bogo. Eight bodies were discovered at a construction site that was originally constructed for 2013 Super Typhoon Haiyan survivors, during his visit.

Diane Madrigal, 18, expressed her ongoing fear in a village chapel that is currently a shelter: “I’m still scared of the aftershocks right now; it feels like we have to run again.”

Lucille Ipil, 43, lamented that the earthquake had truly ruined our lives while waiting for water nearby. We have no choice but to eat, drink, and take a bath.

Marcos later disclosed that government engineers had declared the facility safe for patients to return to after a number of patients are still sleeping outside the provincial hospital.