MANILA, Philippines — A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 struck off the coast of Western Visayas Monday, killing at least 43 people as it destroyed buildings and triggered landslides that buried dozens of houses in Negros Oriental. At least 40 people were also reported missing.

Shortly after the earthquake struck at 11:49 a.m., 5 kilometers northwest of Tayasan, Negros Oriental, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) raised the Tsunami Alert Level to 2.

The US Geological Survey measured the quake at 6.8-magnitude.

As many as 30 houses were buried and at least 40 people trapped in the rubble of collapsed houses were missing in the mountain village of Planas, 15 km from the coastal city of Guihulngan, said Gov. Roel Degamo.

“Their situation is bad because if you are covered by landslide for one hour, two hours, how can you breathe? But we just hope for the best, that there are still survivors,” said Mayor Ernesto Reyes in Guihulngan, a city of about 180,000 people in Negros Oriental.

Rescuers were using picks and shovels to dig for survivors, he said.

Reyes said at least 10 people were confirmed dead, including students at a college and an elementary school and others in a market that collapsed. About 100 were injured.

Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Chief Benito Ramos earlier identified one of the fatalities in Guihulngan as Betty Yap Manzano, 62.

The quake triggered another landslide in the mountain village of Solongon in La Libertad town, same province. An unknown number of people were trapped, said local police chief, Inspector Eric Arrol Besario.

“We’re now getting shovels and chain saws to start a rescue because there were people trapped inside. Some of them were yelling for help earlier,” Besario told The Associated Press by phone. Three key bridges in the town suffered cracks and were no longer passable, he said.

“One child was crushed to death by a collapsed wall in Negros (Oriental),” Ramos said.

Ramos identified the nine-year-old victim as Bernadet Raidan who was crushed by a collapsed wall of the Matuog Elementary School in Tayasan, Negros Oriental.

One other fatality was reported in Tayasan, a coastal town of about 32,000 people where the epicenter of the quake was closest.

One other fatality in the municipality of Jimalalud was identifie as Grade 6 pupil Anafe Estrabella who was crushed when a wall of a chapel collapsed.

Phivolcs said the quake was felt strongest at Intensity 7 in Dumaguete City, capital of Negros Oriental where classes and government offices were suspended as a result of the tremor.

Residents in Dumaguete panicked and traffic was at a standstill as they went out of residences, malls, offices and other edifices.

He said no report of total destruction in infrastructure has been reported so far, except in San Carlos City where a mall was said to have incurred cracks.

But several bridges in Negros Oriental were reported to have incurred structural damage.

Some 80 aftershocks were felt in the province and other areas until 2 p.m., raising fear among residents, especially with the tsunami alert raised by Phivolcs.

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Commandant Vice Admiral Edmund Tan issued a notice to mariners (NOTAM) to warn all maritime vessels passing through the coastal areas fronting Sulu Sea.

As the tsunami alert was lifted around 2:30 p.m., Ramos still appealed to residents of communities by the seafront to defer returning to their homes.

He made the same appeal to residents of buildings and other structures that might have been damaged in the quake.

“If possible, they should not return to their homes because we are not sure of the effect of these aftershocks. They are advised to stay temporarily in evacuation centers and open spaces,” said Ramos.

Phivolcs said Intensity 6 of the earthquake was felt in La Carlota City and La Castellana in Negros Occidental; Intensity 5 in Cebu, Roxas City, Dao and Ibisan in Capiz, and Iloilo City; Intensity 4 in San Jose de Buenavista and Pandan in Antique, Ayungon in Negros Oriental, Kalibo in Aklan; Sagay in Negros Occidental and Dipolog City; Intensity 3 in Butuan City, Agusan del Norte, Legazpi City in Albay, Carmen in Cagayan de Oro City; and Intensity 2 in Cabid-an in Sorsogon.

Phivolcs Seismology Division Officer-In-Charge (OIC) Ishmael Narag said that they are looking into thrust mechanism or pushing of earthquake faults between the Negros and Cebu Trenches that most likely caused the earthquake.

Narag said the earthquake was caused by a blind fault under the sea so it was the first time they detected it. It only manifested itself with the occurrence of Monday’s tremor.

He said a blind thrust fault is somewhat concealed on the ground because it does not rupture all the way up to the surface unless in the event of an earthquake.

In Cebu Cebu, roughly 50 km from where the quake struck there was a violent shaking of buildings that led to broken windows and cracks on the walls, said OCD Chief Ramos.

Ramos said none of the high rise buildings in Cebu, the country’s second biggest city with 2.3 million people, sustained any major damage and that no casualties were reported.

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia and Rep. Imee Marcos were having a closed-door meeting when members of the media started running out of the building. The two woman leaders, although composed, were also ushered out of the building.

Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza said there were no immediate reports of damage among the buildings, hotels and resorts in her city. Building inspectors were checking on the buildings, she said.

The tsunami alert also caused panic in the coastal town of Badian, south of Cebu City, with residents scampering to the mountain area.

The reaction of the residents of Badian happened when water started to rise and radio reports revealed that Philvocs had issue a tsunami warning in Cebu and Negros.

A power interruption was experienced in Cebu City and Iloilo City, where classes were also suspended in both public and private schools.

Bacolod City also suspended classes in the aftermath of the earthquake as local officials called for utmost vigilance at least within 24 hours particularly in monitoring unusual waves in the coastlines.

The Department of Health (DOH), through its Health Emergency Management Systems (HEMS), went on Code White alert in response to the strong quake that rocked western Visayas.

HEMS Director Dr. Carmencita Banatin said the alert ensures that emergency medicines especially for trauma needs should be stocked up and made available at the emergency room.

The DoH uses the code alert system as a tool to alert the department to prepare and respond during emergencies and disasters in terms of an organizational shift in management and mobilizing its resources (manpower and logistics). (With reports from Genalyn D. Kabiling, John Carlo M. Cahinhinan, Jenny Manongdo, Aaron B. Recuenco, Sarah Hilomen Velasco, and PNA)