The death toll from a powerful earthquake in the Philippines reached 107 on Wednesday as emergency workers struggled to rescue an undetermined number of people buried in rubble.
Nearly 3 million people were affected by the magnitude—7.2 tremor that struck on Tuesday in Bohol province, 640 kilometres south of Manila, and affected provinces as far away as the southern region of Mindanao.
At least 97 people were killed in Bohol and 10 in the nearby provinces of Cebu and Siquijor, while 276 were injured, the national disaster management agency said.
The quake damaged many buildings in Bohol and Cebu, including centuries-old Catholic churches, hospitals, hotels, shopping malls and public markets. Roads and bridges also cracked.
Thousands of survivors camped out outside their homes overnight amid fears that aftershocks could still cause more structures to collapse.
President Benigno Aquino visited the worst-hit province of Bohol and directed officials to ensure that prices of food and other basic commodities are kept stable amid a scramble for supplies.
“I also want to assure everyone that the major threat has passed and there will be no more earthquake that will be bigger than 7.2,” he said, amid fears of strong aftershocks.
Tuesday’s earthquake was the worst to hit the Philippines since July 1990, when a magnitude-7.9 quake shook the northern island of Luzon, killing more than 1,600 people with 1,000 still listed as missing presumed dead.
Renato Solidum, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, said the quake’s energy amounted to “around 32 Hiroshima atomic bombs.” Solidum said more than 800 aftershocks have been recorded so far, but only over a dozen were strong enough to be felt, with the strongest measuring 5.1 in magnitude.
More than 40 per cent of Bohol, a province of more than 1.25 million people, was still without electricity while some areas also had no water service, authorities said.
The public works department said it would take up to one month to repair and rehabilitate damaged roads, bridges and other infrastructure.