DAANBANTAYAN, Cebu – Under the searing midday sun, housewife Leira Macasero, 35, stood by the roadside in this northern Cebu town, cradling her two-month-old son.

Around her, young neighbours held up cardboard signs that read: “We need food and water.”

“We’re afraid to sleep inside our homes because they might collapse,” Ms Macasero told The Straits Times. “So in the past three days, we’ve just been laying out mats on the ground to sleep at night.”

With no money on hand and government aid slow to arrive in this far-flung village of Tinubdan in Daanbantayan town, Ms Macasero and her neighbours have been sleeping in open fields and begging for food on the streets, relying on the kindness of volunteers and passers-by.

Tinubdan village is around 130km from Bogo City, which has emerged as the hardest-hit area in Cebu province, where nearly half of the recorded fatalities occurred.

Nearly three days after

a 6.9-magnitude earthquake

As of Oct 2, at least 72 people have been confirmed dead following one of the country’s deadliest natural disasters in recent years, with nearly 300 injured and more than 170,000 affected across the province.

The quake damaged power lines, bridges and several buildings, including a church that was more than 100 years old. Aftershocks continued throughout Oct 3, as the authorities set up mo...