At least 22 dead after major earthquake hits Philippines
The police and rescuers inspect the damage at an indoor arena in San Remigio town, Cebu province, central Philippines, on October 1, 2025, after a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake jolted the central Philippines, collapsing buildings and killing at least 26 people. — AFP pic
Wednesday, 01 Oct 2025 9:01 AM MYT
MANILA, Oct 1 —At least 22 people have been killed following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake in the Philippines, a government official said, marking one of the country’s most devastating disasters this year.
The earthquake that struck off the coast of Cebu City in the Philippines’ central Visayas region just before 10pm (10pm Malaysian time) yesterday led to power outages and damaged buildings in the region.
Alfie Reynes, vice mayor of the town of San Remigio, confirmed the death toll of 22 in an interview with DZMM radio.
Another government official told Reuters by phone that at least 21 people have been reported dead in Cebu province, adding that verification is underway on the reported fatalities.
The New York Times earlier reported that at least 37 people have been injured due to the quake, along with the collapse of a few buildings and infrastructure including bridges. Earthquake monitoring agencies had pegged the depth of the quake at around 10 km (6.2 miles) and recorded multiple aftershocks, the strongest having a magnitude of 6. Another monitoring agency said there was no tsunami threat following the quake.
Cebu City has a population of nearly 1 million, according to the USGS.
Philippine seismology agency Phivolcs warned of aftershocks and damage from the offshore tremor. It also warned that “strong currents and rapid changes of seawater level are expected.” “The concerned public is advised to be on alert for unusual waves,” it said in an advisory. The warning was canceled three hours later. The Philippines lies in the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” where volcanic activity and earthquakes are common. The country had two major earthquakes in January with no casualties reported. In 2023, a 6.7 magnitude offshore earthquake killed eight people. — Reuters
Information provided by JTWC
ReplyDeleteWind speeds and categorizations may differ from those reported by local meteorological agencies.
27W (Philippine name Paolo) is located 785 km east of Manila, Philippines, and has tracked west-northwestward at 28 km/h (15 knots) over the past 6 hours. Maximum significant wave height is 4.6 meters (15 feet).
The subtropical ridge is well established and will guide the system along a steady west-northwest bearing to a landfall between Palanan and Casiguran.
The favorable environment will allow the system to ramp up to at or above typhoon strength prior to landfall. The rugged terrain of northern Luzon will tear the system up and make it difficult to track until it tracks off-shore somewhere near Vigan and regathers itself over the west Philippine Sea.
The environment between Luzon and Hainan is also very favorable, with another stretch of low wind shear and plenty of deep moisture over the southern portion of the storm to allow it to deepen to typhoon strength before approaching coastal China.
There are no issues with track guidance. The JTWC forecast stays between the multi-model consensus and the HAFS-A and new AI-derived trackers.
For the most part, intensity guidance does not process the trip over Luzon, but HAFS-A shows a good sensitivity to that leg. It does, however, track the system across Luzon at 100 km/h (55 knots).
The most difficult points of the forecast come at 36 hours, capturing how much the terrain degrades the system, and at 2 days, how much it is able to ramp back up once returning to sea.
The JTWC intensity forecast tops out at 140 km/h (75 knots), which matches HAFS-A and is just below the consensus mean.
Warning Number 3. Information provided by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC).
[Info from Zoom Earth app on the selected and currently active weather system tracking through towards eastern Philippines. Prayer for the Philippines.]