At least ten people are dead after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck the central Philippines, collapsing buildings and cracking roads in and around Cebu City and across the strait on Bohol Island.

At least four were killed on Bohol according to the island’s Governor Edgardo Chatto.  Four more people died when part of a fish port collapsed in Cebu city.  At least two died when a roof came down on tem in Cebu province.

A 17th-century stone church in Loboc town crumbled to pieces, with nearly half of it reduced to rubble.  Other old churches dating from the Spanish colonial period also reported damage.

Governor Chatto said people in the area “are now a little bit in a situation of panic” about the possibility of a tsunami.  However, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has not issued a warning and said historical data indicates there is little chance of one.

“We are trying to explain to the public that the area is surrounded by several islands,” which Governor Chatto says shields his area from rapidly rising waters.