A powerful 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck the Philippines late on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, striking waters about 100 km (62 miles) from Cebu City.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) placed the epicenter near the city of Bogo in the central Visayas region at a shallow depth of 10 km (6.2 miles), which added to the intense shaking felt over densely populated areas.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center confirmed that there was no widespread tsunami threat from this Philippines earthquake, easing immediate fears for those on the coast.
However, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) alerted Leyte, Cebu, and Biliran provinces in a precautionary bulletin to a “minor sea-level disturbance” and told residents to “stay away from the beach and not to go to the coast” due to potential strong currents.
Cebu City itself, with nearly 1 million people according to USGS estimates, was jolted severely, with Intensity V movements recorded by Phivolcs in areas like Argao and Lapu-Lapu City.
Northern Cebu was hit badly, including a 5.2 magnitude aftershock 13 minutes later, 7.5 km northeast of Bogo; social media videos showed church steeples falling violently in Bantayan and partial collapses at the centuries-old Archdiocesan Shrine of Santa Rosa de Lima in Daanbantayan.