Earthquakes in Philippines, 1927–2026
From 1927 to October 19, 2026, USGS recorded 468 earthquakes of magnitude 6 or more in or off Philippines. 62 of them reached magnitude 7 or more; the strongest was a magnitude 8 on December 2, 1972 (1972 Mindanao, Philippines Earthquake).
The last 30 days · as of
USGS recorded 14 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or more in the area the map frames in the last 30 days.
The latest: magnitude 5.2 on October 21 (68 km NE of Cabatuan, Philippines). The strongest: magnitude 5.5 on October 8 (13 km SW of Burias, Philippines).
What the record holds
The deadliest was not the strongest: a magnitude 7.9 on August 16, 1976 (19 km WNW of Palimbang, Philippines), for which NOAA records 8,000 deaths. 102 earthquakes here in these years are on NOAA’s list of significant earthquakes. NOAA records deaths in 78 of the events here, 15,742 in all. The latest on NOAA’s list is a magnitude 6.3 on August 5, 2026 (32 km SW of Sarangani, Philippines). NOAA lists 41 tsunamis that began in or off Philippines, and one from elsewhere that reached it with deaths or a metre of water or more. The highest water NOAA records here was 9 m, on August 16, 1976. The deadliest, on August 16, 1976, killed 3,820 people here by NOAA’s runup records. NOAA lists 30 significant eruptions of 9 volcanoes in or off Philippines. The largest was Pinatubo on June 15, 1991, at 6 on the volcanic explosivity index. The deadliest was Mayon on November 30, 2006, which killed 1,266 people by NOAA’s count.
The events
- August 5, 2026Earthquake · M 6.332 km SW of Sarangani, PhilippinesUSGS · NOAA NCEI
- June 7, 2026Earthquake · M 7.825 km SW of Kablalan, Philippines · 107 deaths (NOAA)USGS · NOAA NCEI · Wikipedia
- November 30, 2006Eruption · VEI 1Mayon · 1,266 deaths (NOAA)NOAA NCEI · Wikipedia
- June 15, 1991Eruption · VEI 6Pinatubo · 800 deaths (NOAA)NOAA NCEI · Wikipedia
- July 16, 1990Earthquake · M 7.74 km E of Macapsing, Philippines · 2,412 deaths (NOAA)USGS · NOAA NCEI · Wikipedia
- August 16, 1976Earthquake · M 7.919 km WNW of Palimbang, Philippines · 8,000 deaths (NOAA)USGS · NOAA NCEI · Wikipedia
- August 16, 1976Tsunami · 9 m hereMoro Gulf · 3,820 deaths here (NOAA)NOAA NCEI · Wikipedia
- December 2, 1972Earthquake · M 8.01972 Mindanao, Philippines EarthquakeUSGS · NOAA NCEI
- January 24, 1948Earthquake · M 7.83 km W of Buga, Philippines · 74 deaths (NOAA)USGS · NOAA NCEI · Wikipedia
- May 25, 1943Earthquake · M 7.877 km E of Baculin, PhilippinesUSGS · NOAA NCEI
Good to know
- An event counts for Philippines when it began inside its borders, or at sea within 100 km of its coast (so one can count for two neighbours), or further out, up to 300 km, where Philippines is the nearest country.
- USGS counts here start at magnitude 6: the catalogue’s smaller quakes thin out going back, where few instruments listened.
- NOAA lists significant events only: earthquakes that killed, did about $1 million of damage, reached magnitude 7.5 or intensity X, or raised a tsunami, and eruptions and tsunamis by like measures. Magnitudes before 1900 are its estimates from written accounts.
- Deaths are NOAA’s total for each event, wherever people died, its tsunami and fires included. A tsunami counts the dead its runup records give for this place: NOAA’s total for a tsunami includes its source quake’s.
- A tsunami from elsewhere counts where one of its runups killed or rose a metre or more.
- The map frames the box around Philippines, its neighbours’ quakes included, so its count runs higher than this page’s.
- Counted to October 19, 2026, as is the map. The last 30 days ask USGS again.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Earthquakes, live, The world through history