BOGO, Philippines (Reuters) -Philippine authorities said on Thursday that search and rescue operations in quake-hit Cebu province have ended, as the current death toll of 72 was not expected to go much higher and missing people had been accounted for.

Rescuers used backhoes and sniffer dogs to look for survivors in collapsed houses and other damaged buildings in the central Philippines after an earthquake killed at least 72 people and injured more than 200 others.

Tuesday’s quake is the deadliest the country has experienced since October 2013, when more than 200 people died in the Philippines’ central region after a 7.2-magnitude quake struck the neighboring island of Bohol.

Rescuers are using backhoes and sniffer dogs to look for survivors in collapsed houses and other damaged buildings in the central Philippines, a day after an earthquake killed at least 69 people.

A powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake killed at least 69 people in the Philippines, officials said on Wednesday.

Officials were optimistic on Thursday that most of the missing had been accounted for. But severe damage to the area means many people lack shelter, water and electricity.

The death toll in a powerful earthquake that hit the central Philippines late Tuesday has risen to 72 with nearly 300 others injured.

Generally, the foreign office advises against all travel to parts of the Philippines, including Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago. The FCDO encourages prospective travellers to Cebu and nearby provinces to contact their travel providers and check their travel insurance covers natural disasters.