© AP Photo/Bullit Marquezartolome Bautista, deputy director of Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), points to the epicenter of the magnitude 6.8 earthquake which hit central Philippines on Monday Feb. 6
A 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of the central Philippines on Monday, killing at least 43 people and causing widespread panic, officials said.
The powerful quake hit in a narrow strait between the heavily populated island provinces of Negros and Cebu, causing buildings to collapse, cracking roads and bridges, and shutting down the power supply.
In Cebu city, a popular tourist destination and city of 2.3 million, hotel guests scrambled to higher floors as unfounded rumours that a huge tsunami was bearing down spread by text message.
At least 29 were killed by landslides while 10 others were crushed by collapsing buildings in the mountainous town of of Guihulngan in Negros, said regional military official Colonel Francisco Patrimonio.
