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Cebu province has declared a state of calamity after the earthquake struck at around 22:00 local time (14:00 GMT) Tuesday, damaging buildings and churches and cracking and roads and bridges
Rescuers are sifting through rubble for survivors as authorities rush to deliver aid and restore electricity and communication lines
The Philippines is very vulnerable to natural disasters as it lies on the geologically unstable 'ring of fire'. It also lies in the path of typhoons that sweep across the Pacific Ocean every year
The earthquake comes a week after back-to-back typhoons killed over a dozen people and an unusually wet monsoon season caused widespread flooding, stoking public anger
Thousands of people in northern Cebu spent the night out on the streets - their homes last night as the area was hit by repeated aftershocks.
Extensive damage to buildings has been reported – residents described their homes as dancing when they were shaken by the tremors. There were chaotic scenes at hospitals as hundreds of victims were brought in for treatment.
The local authorities have declared a state of calamity in the affected areas, and appealed for volunteers with medical experience to help deal with injuries. Buckled and cracked roads, and fallen bridges, are making access difficult for emergency services.
The Philippines is very vulnerable to natural disasters. It is located on the geologically unstable ‘ring of fire’, and lies in the path of typhoons that sweep across the Pacific Ocean every year.
Seven of those who died in the quake lived in a village built to house victims of Typhoon Haiyan, which struck the central Philippines twelve years ago killing more than 6,000 people.
The magnitude 6.9 earthquake was felt in large parts of Cebu, including in the provincial capital (also named Cebu) around two to three hours by car from the north-east coast, where the quake struck.
"It was a strong earthquake from where we are and aftershocks continue," Cebu City resident Robel Suico tells DZMM - a local radio station based in the capital Manila.
"We are now staying outisde our house just to be safe," he says.
Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival says the earthquake caused light damage to some structures.
"It was strong but there has been no major incident so far," Archival says.