Philippines earthquake toll rises to 72

The death toll from a powerful earthquake in the central Philippines rose to 72 on Thursday, October 2, 2025.

The bodies of the three latest victims were pulled from the rubble of a collapsed hotel overnight in the city of Bogo, near the epicentre of the 6.9-magnitude quake that struck on Tuesday.

“We have zero missing, so the assumption is all are accounted for,” National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council spokesman Junie Castillo said, adding that some rescue units in Cebu province had been told to “demobilise”.

President Ferdinand Marcos flew to Bogo with senior aides on Thursday, pledging to put up a “tent city” to temporarily house those whose dwellings were among the 600 wrecked by the quake.

69 killed in Philippines earthquake

Also to be accommodated there will be the thousands more whose homes remained structurally intact but who fear being caught up in the wave of aftershocks that still sweep the region.

The government said 294 people were injured and around 20,000 had fled their homes across the north of Cebu. Many are sleeping on the streets.

More than 110,000 people in 42 communities affected by the earthquake will need assistance to rebuild their homes and restore their livelihoods, according to the regional civil defence office.

Marcos told reporters the main impact of the quake had been to infrastructure, with officials unsure about the condition of evacuation centres, which meant “we don’t have anything to house the displaced families”.

The Star