Local authorities say nearly 70 people have been killed and hospitals in Cebu province are overwhelmed.
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake hit the central Philippines late on Tuesday night, killing at least 69 people and injuring more than 140, according to local authorities.
Here is more about what happened and why the country is vulnerable to earthquakes.
Where did the earthquake hit and how bad is it?
At 9:59pm local time on Tuesday (13:59 GMT) a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck 12 miles northeast of Bogo City in Cebu province in the country’s central Visayas region.
Earthquake monitoring agencies say the depth of the earthquake was about 10km (6.2 miles), making it a shallow quake.
Earthquakes that are considered “shallow” usually cause more damage because the epicentre is close to the Earth’s surface – at a depth of between 0 and 70 km, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
The USGS said it has recorded four aftershocks of magnitude 5 or higher since the first quake in the Philippines on Tuesday.
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