A strong earthquake jolted the central Philippines on Tuesday night, collapsing buildings and killing at least 20 people and injuring more than three dozen others, a government spokeswoman said.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology reported that the 6.9-magnitude earthquake shook the province of Cebu, home to 3.2 million people, just before 10 p.m. local time. It was followed by a series of smaller aftershocks.
Ainjeliz de la Torre-Orong, a spokeswoman for Cebu, said in an email that at least 20 people had been confirmed dead and at least 37 had been injured. Four buildings had collapsed, three government buildings had been damaged and six bridges and one road were not passable, she said.
Ms. de la Torre-Orong said that Cebu’s governor, Pam Baricuatro, had ordered the immediate delivery of relief supplies, including water and medicine, to those who had been affected and had dispatched equipment to clear roads and help in rescue operations.
Officials in the province of South Cotabato also planned to dispatch relief supplies and a medical team to Cebu, she said.
Five of the dead were in the town of San Remigio, Capt. Jan Ace Elcid Layug, the officer in charge of the San Remigio police, said, according to ABS-CBN, a Filipino news outlet.
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