'State of calamity' as earthquake kills 69 in Philippines province

The earthquake comes barely more than a week after the country was hit by back-to-back typhoons.

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The province of Cebu, which suffered the brunt of the damage, declared a state of calamity early on Wednesday, after thousands spent the night on the streets amid repeated aftershocks.

One Cebu resident told the BBC he was among them, adding that power and water supplies were cut off. He says the voices of crying children could be heard around him, adding that they were "traumatised".

The earthquake comes barely more than a week after the country was hit by back-to-back typhoons which killed more than 20 people.

Most of the earthquake victims were from Bogo, a small town on one of the largest islands in the Visayas Islands, the Philippines' central region - and the place closest to the earthquake's epicentre.