TEXT AND PHOTOS BY JUAN CARLO DE VELA
OVER 60 lives were lost, more than a hundred were injured and hundreds more were left without homes when a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck northern Cebu, affecting Bogo City and the towns of Daanbantayan and Medellin, among others, on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025.
At 9:59 p.m., when most families had already settled in for the night, the ground shook violently. Within seconds, areas were plunged into darkness as power lines collapsed and silence turned into cries for help.
Terrified residents spent the night outside their shattered homes, as aftershocks rattled the ground. Patients were wheeled out of government hospitals, forced to wait under the open sky as buildings too dangerous to remain in were being checked.
By morning, the grim reality emerged. Bodies in black bags were laid out at municipal halls. The scale of devastation was unmistakable: homes flattened, government facilities crippled, water reservoirs destroyed and a centuries-old church reduced to rubble.
What now for the survivors? How will northern Cebu begin to heal and rebuild from a night that stole lives, homes and hope?