By Priam Nepomuceno

RETRIEVAL. ⁨A soldier from the Philippine Army (PA)’s 53rd Engineer Brigade retrieves a cadaver buried under a damaged building following a 6.9 magnitude earthquake that rocked Cebu province on Sept. 30, 2025. The NDRRMC said Thursday (Oct. 2) that the number of reported deaths from the massive earthquake has climbed to 72. (Photo courtesy of the PA)

MANILA – The number of reported deaths from Tuesday’s magnitude 6.9 earthquake that rattled Bogo City, Cebu and other nearby provinces has climbed to 72, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Thursday.

In its 6 a.m. situation report, the agency said the fatalities were all from Central Visayas.

The disaster response body is also verifying reports of 294 injured, all in the same region.

Affected families numbered 47,221, residing in 53 barangays across Central Visayas.

Around 4,000 families are being aided outside, as there are still active evacuation centers as of this time.

Damaged houses were placed at 597, with 501 classified as “partially damaged” and 96 as “totally damaged”, all in Region 7.

The NDRRMC has yet to determine damage to infrastructure and agriculture as of this posting. (PNA)