A strong 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of the central Philippines on Tuesday evening, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The quake’s epicenter was located off the northern tip of Cebu island, near the city of Bogo, with both aftershocks and possible minor damage expected.
Local Impact and Witness Reports
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) warned of “minor surface disturbances” and urged residents of Leyte, Cebu, and Biliran to stay away from the coast as a precaution.
Residents described the quake as strong and frightening.
Firefighter Joey Leguid from San Fernando Town said: “We felt a shaking here in our station, it was very strong. We saw our locker moving from left to right, we felt a little dizzy for a while but now we are fine.”
Martham Paislan, 25, from Bantayan, reported seeing rocks fall from a church structure but confirmed that no one was injured.
Agnes Mirza, a 65-year-old caregiver, said her kitchen tiles cracked and that her neighbors rushed out of their homes. “It felt like we were all going to fall. My two teenage helpers hid under a table because that’s what they were taught in the Boy Scouts.”
The USGS initially recorded the earthquake at 7.0 magnitude before revising it down to 6.9. Despite the strength, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center confirmed there was no tsunami threat and no action was required.
The Philippines sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a seismically active region where earthquakes occur almost daily. While most are too weak to be felt, destructive quakes strike without warning. This latest tremor serves as a reminder of the country’s ongoing vulnerability to natural disasters.
