Cebu Earthquake Death Toll Revised to 68 as Desperate Residents Trade Food for Water

The death toll from the powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake that struck Cebu Province in the central Philippines earlier this week has been revised to 68, as government agencies continue to verify casualty figures across affected communities.

According to the Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), the quake has injured 559 people and disrupted the lives of more than 366,000 residents, or 80,595 families. Thousands remain displaced—about 1,800 people are sheltering in evacuation centers, while tens of thousands more are staying temporarily with relatives or in improvised shelters.

Earlier figures from local authorities placed the death toll at 73, but the national disaster agency adjusted the count following more thorough verification. Officials warned that numbers could still change as rescue and recovery teams reach isolated areas.

The earthquake caused widespread damage across Cebu. Over 5,000 homes were affected, including 658 that were completely destroyed, along with 335 public structures such as roads, bridges, and buildings. Several transportation routes remain impassable, electricity is still out in dozens of towns, and communication lines remain unstable. Three seaports remain closed, stranding more than 200 passengers. Schools and workplaces in many parts of the province are shut down as recovery efforts continue. The entire province has been placed under a state of calamity.

Amid these challenges, a heartbreaking scene has emerged in Barangay Tacup, a rural village in northern Cebu. Residents, still waiting for government relief to arrive, have begun bartering their small harvests of bananas and sweet potatoes in exchange for clean drinking water. Photos from the village have gone viral, showing families gathered by the roadside, trading food for bottles of water—an image that has come to symbolize the desperation of communities left isolated after the quake. Tacup has yet to receive formal aid since the earthquake struck on September 30.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has recorded 3,685 aftershocks since the main quake, some as strong as magnitude 5.1. These repeated tremors have hampered rescue operations and added to the anxiety of affected families.

Philippine authorities say that ₱12.6 million (around US$220,000) in emergency assistance has been distributed so far. However, many communities remain in urgent need of food, water, and medical aid as the region struggles to recover from one of the most powerful earthquakes to hit Cebu in recent memory.