More than 60 people died while over 100 were injured after a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck the province of Cebu at 9:59 pm Tuesday.

The epicenter of the tremor which was tectonic in origin and had a depth of 5 kilometers was monitored at 19 kilometers northeast of Bogo City.

Portions of buildings fell and videos showed people rushing to safety and a bridge that swayed as the tremor shook, forcing traffic to halt. Power has been cut.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr ordered government agencies to restore essential services in the area and assured survivors of hold. ''We are assessing the damage, we are assessing the needs,'' Marcos told reporters in Masbate, which was struck by a powerful storm last week.

Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon led officials who inspected Bogo City and direct relief operations.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) recorded Intensity VII in Bago City, Daanbantayan, Medellin, San Remigio and Tabuelan.

Office of Civil Defense Deputy Administrator for Administration Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV said that the government is verifying the reported death of 69 individuals in different municipality and city of Cebu province.

"The reported number of fatalities is now at 69, Most of them are from Bogo City, half or 30, in Medellin there were 10, 22 in San Remigio, five in Tabogon and one each from Sogod and Tabuelan," he said.

"A total of 69 were reported but these are still subject for validation and verification," he added.

Coast Guard District Central Visayas said three Coast Guard personnel died. They were Seaman Second Class Lawrence Palomo, Apprentice Seaman Jujay Mahusay, and Apprentice Seaman Er Cart Dacunes who perished when the San Remegio Sports Complex collapsed.

Alejandro reported that as of 7 am, at least 147 people were reported injured noting that it is still expected to increase as more reports are coming in from the affected areas in the province.

"Most of them (those who died and got injured) were stuck from the debris or hit by debris which caused their deaths," he said.

He said OCD is still getting reports ''some barangays still needs assistance in terms of rescue.'' ''Many reports are coming about people who were stuck because of the debris from the earthquake," he added.

Initial reports say around 1,000 individuals were evacuated and most of them remain outside their houses due to aftershocks which reached to around 600 as of Wednesday morning.

Alejandro said the center of the government response is focused on the northern part of Cebu province particularly in Bogo City and its nearby municipalities including Medellin, and San Remigio where a lot of casualties and damage were reported.

As of Wednesday, the headquarters of the Philippine Coast Guard in Manila deployed BRP Teresa Magbanua carrying a total of 36 doctors, nurses and medical personnel to augment humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations in the Visayas.

The Coast Guard District Southwestern Mindanao (CGDSWM) is also set to dispatch two 44-meter vessels, while the Coast Guard Northeastern Mindanao (CGDNEM) will send one 44-meter vessel to aid the 44-meter vessel currently deployed at the Coast Guard District Central Visayas (CGDCV).

Additional Coast Guard K9 units and search and rescue teams were also deployed to augment its response operations in Cebu.

Aside from the ongoing HADR operations of the Philippine Army in the province, the Philippine Air Force (PAF) sent several air assets including a C-130 cargo aircraft to transport additional rescuers from the 505th Search and Rescue Group (SRG), along with Philippine Army (PA) HADR team.

Black Hawk helicopters from the 205th Tactical Helicopter Wing also carried out rapid damage assessment and needs analysis (RDANA) missions and airlifted rescue and medical teams, equipment, and relief goods to the hardest-hit areas of the province. Robina Asido/DMS