A 6.9-MAGNITUDE earthquake struck the central Philippine province of Cebu on Tuesday night, leaving at least 69 people dead, according to the local disaster agency. All ports and airports in the Visayas were fully operational, the Department of Transportation (DoTr) said in a statement. In an 8 a.m. advisory on Wednesday, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said the grid lost 1,444 megawatts (MW) after the plants tripped. It ordered a 60-day price freeze on basic petroleum products in the province, including on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and kerosene. The Philippines lies in the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, a belt of volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean where most of the world’s earthquakes strike.