At least 69 people have been killed and dozens injured after a powerful 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck the central Philippines late on Tuesday.

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 traumatized.

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.

Images coming out of Bogo show body bags lined on the street and hundreds of people being treated in tent hospitals. Officials have warned of a lot of damage caused by the earthquakes.

The local authorities have appealed for volunteers with medical experience to help deal with injuries.

Buckled and cracked roads, and fallen bridges are also making access difficult for emergency services. Power lines in many places are down, meaning that it's also been hard to speak to those affected.

Seven of those who died in Tuesday's earthquake in Bogo had lived in a village built to house victims of Typhoon Haiyan, which struck the central Philippines 12 years ago, killing more than 6,000 people.

On Wednesday evening, Bogo was hit by yet another aftershock, this one at a magnitude of 4.7, with tremors felt in Cebu city and the neighbouring Leyte islands. There were no known casualties.

Cebu's archbishop has told devotees to stay away from churches, pending structural assessments. This call is significant as Cebu was one of the first Philippine islands to be colonised by Spain in the 1500s, and has many old churches.

Earlier footage showed the tower of an old Catholic church swaying and then partly collapsing in one locality.