Victims Of Death Of The M 6.9 Earthquake In The Philippines Become 72 People, Residents Still Traumatized Aftershocks

JAKARTA - The death toll from the devastating earthquake in the Philippines increased to 72 on Thursday, October 2.

Officers found three bodies from the rubble of a hotel that collapsed on Wednesday night in the city of Bogo. The three of them were victims of death after a magnitude (M) of 6.9 hit the central Philippines on Tuesday.

"There were no missing victims, so the assumption is that all the victims have been found," said a spokesman for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Board, Junie Castillo, Thursday, October 2, quoted from AFP.

The Philippine government said the M 6.9 earthquake rocked the Philippines leaving 294 people injured and about 20,000 people displaced.

Nearly 600 houses were destroyed north of Cebu and many slept on the streets as hundreds of aftershocks rocked the area.

One of the challenges is aftershocks. This means residents are reluctant to return to their homes, even houses that are not (structureally) damaged, "said Castillo.

The Philippine government is currently shifting its main focus from searching for missing victims to hundreds of injured victims and thousands of people have lost their homes.

Castilo added that a number of rescue teams in Cebu province had been ordered to demobilize.

The Governor of Cebu Province, Pamela Baricuatro, said that victims in his area needed a central hand to meet urgent needs such as drinking water, food, clothing, and temporary shelter.

Baricuatro also asked for additional rescue teams to sort and distribute aid in Cebu.