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Two periods following a magnitude 6.9 seismic event shook her native town in the heartland country, Arguel Estalicas explains she still experiences lightheaded whenever she rises.

That spinning experience, coupled with a series of tremors, has forced the 35-year-old travel official and numerous other survivors too frightened to come back to their houses, compelling them to live in temporary shelters temporarily.

The earthquake jolted the northern coast of Cebu, one of the land's most densely inhabited islands, on the night of 30 September, jolting many from their sleep.

It caused the death of at least 72 people and injured 300 others, as dwellings, edifices and places of worship caved in and roads split.

It's hard to grasp what has transpired to us. I am swamped with the things we went through in the previous two days.

The 35-year-old dwells in Medellin town, close to the quake's epicenter. Disaster response authorities report the seismic event displaced about 40,000 people all over Cebu, a major trading and transportation center in the central Philippines.

She explained she got out of bed yelling when the tremor occurred and hurried into the open with her loved ones.

They rested under the stars, but when a gentle rain began, Ms Estalicas and her family covered themselves up in plastic bags because they did not have waterproof clothing.

Photos on digital networks depicted them positioned on plastic chairs, wrapped in polyethylene steamed up by their respiration.

Food, Drinking Water and Fuel Required

The Philippines is vulnerable to geological hazards. It is situated on the geologically unstable "Ring of Fire" - so called because of the significant amount of tremors and volcanic mountains that take place here.

The Cebu earthquake on Tuesday is one of the most powerful and most fatal in recent memory. In 2013, a 7.2-intensity tremor in neighbouring Bohol island caused the death of over 200 people and destroyed centuries-old churches.

On Thursday, relief personnel combed through wreckage as authorities strived to provide nourishment, restore energy and telecommunication lines, and clear streets of wreckage.

The Philippine defense forces has dispatched personnel to assist keep stability during relief efforts.

However, essential items are still a critical problem for many.

Visual journalist Doods Demape decided on Thursday to make a four-hour drive from Medellin to the regional center to purchase goods since no shops were open.

Mr Demape mentions he had trouble to discover a fuel outlet that was not flooded with crowds of people.

Nearly all pathways are now navigable so resources are now coming in from the metropolis. But immediate provisions like drinking water and food, notably for the young ones are not yet available.

In Bogo city, the earthquake's epicenter, area reports indicate remains containers placed on the road in front of temporary treatment centers where the injured are being cared for.

This recent earthquake comes in the middle of a fierce cyclone season. Two successive weather systems submerged extensive areas of the nation a seven days before.

Widespread floods from those typhoons and previous monsoon rains have provoked civil discontent and caused civil unrest.

Cebu is especially susceptible to cyclones. It is situated on the general route of tempests that originate over the Pacific.

The area's north region, the epicentre of Tuesday's quake, was struck by Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. That typhoon killed over 6,000 persons in the complete heartland region.

Part of the numerous edifices damaged by Tuesday's earthquake was a resettlement area for victims of Haiyan.

Despite their current challenges, Cebu inhabitants like Ms Estalicas and Mr Pareja are hopeful that they could endure the earthquake, as they did following Haiyan and the disasters before it.

They explain local residents are assisting each other, what Filipinos call bayanihan or collective cooperation.

My main wish is that assistance won't be slowed - and that neighbouring towns will also be accounted for and encompassed in these aid operations.