The death toll from the magnitude 6.9 earthquake in the central Philippines has risen to 72, officials confirmed.

With search operations now complete and “zero missing”, according to National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) spokesman Junie Castillo, authorities on Thursday shifted focus to supporting the injured and displaced.

Rescue teams recovered three more bodies overnight from a collapsed hotel in Bogo City, near the epicentre. With all victims now accounted for, some rescue units in Cebu province have been instructed to “demobilise”.

During his Thursday visit to the disaster zone, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr announced plans for a “tent city” to accommodate residents from the 600 destroyed homes and thousands more who fear returning to their intact houses

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