The death toll from a 6.9-magnitude earthquake that hit the central Philippines has risen to 69, a disaster official said on Wednesday as the government mobilised agencies to search for survivors and restore power and water supplies. Reuters reported

In Bogo city in the north of Cebu province, which was near the epicentre of the shallow quake that struck off the coast just before 10 p.m. on Tuesday, the hospital has been "overwhelmed," Civil Defense official Raffy Alejandro told reporters.