On September 30, 2025, at approximately 22:00 local time (14:00 GMT), a powerful 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck offshore of Cebu City in the central Philippines. The shallow earthquake, with an epicenter 18 kilometers northeast of Bogo City at a depth of 5 kilometers, caused widespread devastation across Cebu province and Central Visayas.
According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), over 455,800 people (129,900 families) were affected, with more than 26,500 people still displaced and 72 reported fatalities. The majority of those displaced stayed outside their homes and evacuation centres due to ongoing aftershocks.
This compound emergency strikes the Philippines still recovering from Tropical Cyclone Bualoi (locally named Opong), which battered the Philippines just days earlier on September 26, 2025. Bualoi made landfall six times across Eastern Visayas, Masbate, and the MIMAROPA region, affecting 1,080,389 families across 16 regions according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
An earthquake of 7.4 M at a depth of 58.1 km occurred over the sea in the southern Philippines, on 10 October at 01.43 (UTC) (09.43 local time). The epicentre was approximately 17 km east of the coast of Mindanao Island, 20 km east of Santiago municipality, in the province of Davao Oriental, and approximately 120 km north-east of Davao City. This was followed by a Magnitude 6.9 aftershock with an epicenter at a depth of 10 km.
With the compounding effects of the earthquakes in Davao and Cebu, and the ongoing response to the impacts of Tropical Cyclones Bualoi and Matmo, PDRF Emergency Operations Center (EOC) maintains its alert level in YELLOW STATUS to actively monitor the situation.
Private Sector Mobilization and Response Efforts
PDRF continues to coordinate local and international private sector response efforts for the M6.9 earthquake in Cebu and the impacts of Typhoon Bualoi. Together with corporate members such as Coca-Cola Philippines, Shell Philippines, PLDT-Smart Telecommunications, Jollibee Group Foundation, Ayala Corporation and other Filipino corporations, PDRF has mobilized private sector donations amounting to over $108,000 reaching almost 69,000 individuals with relief assistance. International private sector partners such as DHL and Airlink have also deployed responders to assist the ongoing response efforts. PSU/CBI has published an emergency page to track and document private sector response and recovery activities.
On 2 October, PDRF convened its member companies and humanitarian partners for a Network Briefing on on the Cebu Earthquake Response and Latest Weather Threats to share updates on the impact of the M6.9 earthquake in Cebu, the current situation and status of relief operations in Masbate due to Typhoon Bualoi, and the potential impact of Tropical Cyclone Matmo. PDRF member companies such as Coca-Cola Philippines, Ayala Corporation, Shell Philippines, Jollibee Group Foundation, Land Bank of the Philippines and many others have provided donations of food and non-food items for the communities affected. PDRF has deployed a team to Cebu to coordinate with the local government units and PDRF partners in the province. PDRF will also continue to assess and validate priority needs and map the extent of damage to critical infrastructure. The team will also establish local supply chain connections for the procurement and transportation of relief items.
How to help?
PDRF continues to work with government and humanitarian agencies to coordinate private sector response and recovery efforts.
For further information on how to help and coordinate directly with local actors, please visit www.pdrf.org/how-you-can-help/donate/ or contact the PDRF emergency operations center at opscenter@pdrf.org.ph and/or connect with Rhiza Nery at florian.nery@un.org.