The two consecutive earthquakes happened at 4:16 AM and 7:37 AM with a magnitude of 5.4 and 5.9 respectively. The earthquakes caused major damage to houses in Itbayat, where most traditional unreinforced limestone masonry houses collapsed, and also damaged government buildings such as schools, the town hall and hospital.
The team from Build Change and Philippine Red Cross arrived in Itbayat, Batanes on October 2, 2019 for a weeklong survey.