List of earthquakes in the Philippines

The Philippines lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, which causes the country to have frequent seismic and volcanic activity. Much larger numbers of earthquakes of smaller magnitude occur very regularly due to the meeting of major tectonic plates in the region.

Spanish period

17th century

• An intensity VI quake struck Manila on June 25, 1599. The quake had damaged many private buildings and the city and ruined the roof of Old Santo Domingo Church.
• An intensity VIII quake struck Manila on January 2, 1600.
• A quake struck Manila on January 16, 1601. The earthquake lasted about 7 minutes, and aftershocks were experienced the whole year.
• An intensity VII quake struck Dulag Island and Palo Island, Leyte in December 3, 1608.
• An intensity IX quake struck Manila on November 1610. It was a terrible quake that progressed from east to west.
• An intensity IX quake struck Panay Island on 1620. A great number of casualties were reported in Capiz and Iloilo provinces. The earthquake changed the course of the Aklan River and damaged stone churches and their façades in Passi, Iloilo.
• An intensity X quake struck Northern Luzon on 1627. Convulsions were felt in Cagayan and Ilocos Norte provinces, the Bontoc and Lepanto, and central parts of the Cordillera Central. Other sources claimed that the Caraballo Mountains somewhat subsided.
• An intensity IX quake struck Albay and Camarines^[1] on 1628. The quake caused avalanches of ashes, lapilli, water and sand that swept away whole towns in Albay and Camarines.
• An intensity IX quake struck Illana Bay, Western Mindanao on December 21, 1636. Landslides reported along Illana Bay, Sibuguey Bay and Point Flechas.
• An intensity X quake struck Northern Luzon on January 4, 1641. The quake occurred after the 1641 eruption of Mount Parker. Landslides and mudflow destroyed villages in Ilocos provinces, Cagayan and the Cordillera Central.
• A magnitude 7.5 quake struck Luzon on November 30, 1645. The earthquake was then the strongest to hit the Islands since the Spanish conquest.^[2] It had greatly damaged newly constructed churches and Manila Cathedral, along with residential villas and buildings in the city and nearby provinces. Some 600 people were reported dead.^[3]
• An intensity VIII quake struck Luzon on December 5, 1645. It was a major aftershock of the November 30, 1645 Luzon earthquake, and it had further destroyed remaining buildings in Manila and nearby towns. Aftershocks ceased around March 1646.
• An intensity IX quake struck Southern Luzon on 1648. It was a very violent earthquake that wrecked many buildings.
• An intensity VI quake struck Manila on May 1, 1653.
• An intensity IX quake struck Southern Luzon on August 20, 1658. It was comparable to the 1645 Luzon earthquake, but had caused less damage on building and was less proximity from the epicenter. It had destroyed the Royal Monastery of Santa Clara, several monasteries of the Dominicans and Recollects, the Jesuit College and episcopal palaces.^[3]
• A magnitude 5.5 quake struck Manila on June 19, 1665. Only a Jesuit church experienced great damage. 19 were reported dead.
• An intensity VIII struck Isla Verde Passage in February 1675. The quake destroyed many buildings in northern Oriental Mindoro and southern Batangas provinces. This led to occurrences of landslides, opening of ground fissures, and subsidence of beaches along the coast of Mindoro.
• An intensity VII struck Manila on August 24, 1683.

18th century

• An intensity VII struck Lake Bombon (now known as Taal Lake) on September 24, 1716. It was connected with the eruption of Taal volcano; the constant volcanic activity in the area of Taal caused seismic movements.
• An intensity IX struck Tayabas (now known as Quezon) in 1730. It had ruined the churches and convent in Mauban and several other churches in the province of Tayabas and Laguna.

19th century

The belfry of Manila Cathedral after the series of destructive earthquakes of July 1880.

• An earthquake on June 3, 1863, destroyed Manila Cathedral, the Ayuntamiento (city hall), the Governor's Palace (all three located at the time on Plaza Mayor, now Plaza de Roma) and much of the city. The residence of the Governor-General was moved to Malacañang Palace located about 3 km (1.9 miles) up the Pasig River, while the other two buildings were rebuilt in place.heart
• An intensity X quake struck Luzon on July 14 to 25, 1880.^[4] The quake caused severe damage to these major cities in Luzon, most significantly in Manila where a lot of buildings collapsed. Number of casualties are unknown.^[3]
• A quake struck Lucban, Quezon on October 26, 1884. It destroyed churches in Lucban, Tayabas province (now known as Quezon province) and Cavinti in Laguna province.^[3]
• Two earthquakes struck near Basilan Island near Mindanao on September 20 and 21, 1897. Both earthquakes triggered tsunamis, with the second being quite destructive, with a maximum run-up of 7.0 m. At least 13 died as a result of the second tsunami, with a hundred or more casualties also being reported.

American period and post-World War II

Early 20th century

• A magnitude 7.5 quake struck Northeastern Mindanao on July 11, 1912. Damage and high intensity were experienced by towns of La Paz, Bunauan, Veruela and Talacogon in the Agusan Valley where intense ground shaking, liquefaction, widespread landslides and river/lake seiches occurred.^[5]
• The M_w  8.3 Celebes Sea earthquake occurred on August 15, 1918 with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). The offshore shock affected the southern Philippines with high intensity shaking and a destructive tsunami that left 52 people dead.
• An intensity VII earthquake struck Luzon, mainly Isabela on December 29, 1949. Starting at 11:05 a.m., it lasted for two-and-a-half minutes. The damage was moderately destructive, causing landslides and rough waves capsizing boats, as well as fissures that spat out black water. The intensity ranged from IV to VII throughout Luzon.^[6]
• A magnitude 7.8 M_w earthquake struck Panay Island on January 25, 1948 at 1:46 AM. The epicenter was between the municipalities of Anini-y and Dao in Antique province.

Contemporary period

Mid to late 20th century

• A magnitude of 7.6 earthquake struck Casiguran, Aurora, on August 2, 1968, at the depth of approximately 31 km. It was considered the most severe and destructive earthquake experienced in the Philippines during the last 20 years. 270 people were reported dead and 261 were injured.

The damage caused by a tsunami at Barangay Tibpuan, Lebak, Mindanao after the 7.9 Moro Gulf Earthquake on August 16, 1976.

• A magnitude 7.0 quake struck Ragay Gulf on March 17, 1973. Calauag, Quezon was the worst hit, as the quake caused 98 houses totally destroyed, and 270 more were partially damaged.^[7]
• A magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck Mindanao on August 16, 1976. The quake caused a devastating tsunami that had hit the 700 km coastline of the island of Mindanao bordering Moro Gulf in the North Celebes Sea. An estimated 5,000 - 8,000 people died. The major cause of the great number of casualties during the event could be attributed to the fact that the quake happened just after midnight when most people were sleeping; and a great tsunami was spawned, struck the coasts from different directions and caught the people unaware.^[8]
• A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Laoag on August 17, 1983, at a depth of 42 km. The quake has caused the deaths of 16 and injured 47 people.^[9]
• A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Bohol on February 8, 1990. Six fatalities were reported and more than 200 were injured in the event. About 46,000 people were displaced by the event and at least 7,000 among them were rendered homeless. Estimated damage to properties is amounting to ₱154-million.^[10]
• A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Panay Island on June 14, 1990 at a depth of 15 km. Seven people died and 31 others were injured.^[11]
• A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Luzon on July 16, 1990. It caused severe damage to major cities in Luzon: Dagupan City (soil liquefaction), Baguio City, and Cabanatuan City; Hyatt Terraces Baguio collapsed. 1,621 were reported dead. Damage to buildings, infrastructures, and properties amounted to at least ₱10-billion, a part of which was caused by ground rupturing. However, some houses within 1–2 m on either side of the ground rupture survived owing to their light-weight construction while those built of reinforced concrete within this zone suffered partial damage. Damage beyond 2m depended mainly on the structural integrity of the building and effects of local topography and ground conditions.^[8][12]
• A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Mindoro on November 15, 1994 at depth of 15 km. The quake caused a tsunami killed 41 people and destroyed 1530 houses.^[13]
• A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck Bohol on May 27, 1996 at a depth of 4 km. The earthquake did not cause major damage to properties. Damage was confined to poorly built structures and/or old wooden, masonry, limestone walls of houses and buildings, generally due to ground shaking.^[14]
• A magnitude of 5.1 struck Bayugan, Agusan del Sur on June 7 and 9, 1999. The towns of Bayugan and Talacogon were the most devastated.^[5]

21st century

• A magnitude of 7.5 quake struck Mindanao on January 1, 2001 at a depth of 33 km.^[15]
• A magnitude of 7.5 quake struck Central and Southern Mindanao on March 5, 2002 at a depth of 31 km.^[16] At least 15 people were killed, 100 injured and 800 buildings were damaged or destroyed.^[17]
• A magnitude of 6.1 quake struck Sultan Kudarat on March 6, 2002. Office of Civil Defense (OCD) records show that 8 people had died and 41 were injured due to the earthquake. It affected 7,684 families in the provinces of Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Cotabato and South Cotabato including four cities and 17 municipalities.^[18]
• A magnitude of 6.2 quake struck Masbate on February 15, 2003 at a depth of 22 km. The quake damaged major infrastructures in Masbate.^[19]
• A magnitude of 6.5 quake struck Samar on November 18, 2003. One person was reported dead.
• A magnitude of 6.5 quake struck Mindoro on October 8, 2004.
• A magnitude of 6.6 quake struck Moro Gulf on October 4, 2009.
• A series of quakes with the main quake's magnitude of 7.3 struck Moro Gulf on July 23–24, 2010.
• A magnitude of 6.4 quake struck Ilocos Region on March 20, 2011.
• A magnitude of 5.2 quake struck Valencia City, Bukidnon on November 8, 2011 at a depth of 1 km.^[20] 39 people were injured, and several establishments were damaged.^[21]
• A magnitude of 6.9 quake struck Negros, the rest of Central Visayas, and some parts of Mindanao on February 6, 2012, at a depth of 20 km. The quake killed people, caused major damage on infrastructures, and buildings. A tsunami alert level 2 was raised due to the quake. The quake also caused a landslide, burying a barangay. More than a thousand of aftershocks were recorded by PHIVOLCS within 2 days since the quake occurred.^[22][23][24] According to National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, as of February 18, 2012, the death toll have risen to 51 with 62 people still missing, and injuring 112 people. Most deaths came from the city of Guihulngan and La Libertad where landslides occurred. 63, 697 from provinces in Region VII were affected by the quake. 15, 483 houses were partially or totally damaged, and a total of ₱383-million worth of damage to buildings, roads and bridges, and other infrastructures were recorded.
• A magnitude of 5.9 quake struck Surigao City on March 16, 2012. Many were injured in the city for that certain day was the grand opening of Gaisano Capital Surigao. An estimated 6,000 people were in Gaisano when the earthquake happened. The earthquake caused a stampede which injured people.^[25][26][27]
• An earthquake with magnitude 7.6 struck 106 km near Guiuan, Eastern Samar on August 31, 2012. It was felt in certain areas of Visayas and Mindanao. One person died, and another one was injured in Cagayan de Oro City after being trapped in a collapsed house due to a landslide.^[28] Minutes after the quake, power interruptions occurred in the affected areas. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported that a house in Agusan del Sur province caught fire sparked by a gas lamp that was toppled during the earthquake. It also reported that two bridges in Eastern Samar, particularly the Buyayawan Bridge in Mercedes town and the Barangay Casuroy Bridge in San Julian town, were partially damaged. The Abreeza Mall in Bajada, Davao City suffered minor cracks on the floor due to the earthquake.^[29] In General MacArthur, Eastern Samar, 77 homes were damaged. There were also 6 houses damaged in Barangay Casoroy, San Julian.^[30] In Balangiga, Eastern Samar, a hospital sustained serious damage.^[31] A wall from an old building collapsed in Butuan City.^[32] The NDRRMC reported on Saturday noon there were cracks on some roads and bridges and other establishments in areas where the quake was felt.^[33] Most of the homes destroyed were those made of light materials, while overall damage to infrastructure remained minimal.^[34] A tsunami warning of Level 3 was raised by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, but was lifted 5 hours after the quake only caused tiny waves.^[35]
• A series of earthquakes, struck cities of Malaybalay and Valencia, and the sitio of Musuan, Maramag in Bukidnon last September 3–4, 2012. The first quake has a magnitude of 3.4 and was felt at 06:48 PM,^[36] and was followed by magnitude 4.0 at 07:45 PM,^[37] and 4.7 at 09:21 PM.^[38] Hours after the first three, a series of quakes occurred in 03:44 AM and in 03:52 AM. The first quake had a magnitude of 5.6 with a depth of focus of 3 km;^[39] while the second one was recorded at a magnitude of 4.9 with a depth focus of 3 km.^[40] The quake was felt as far as Cagayan de Oro, Kidapawan, Butuan, and Cotabato cities.^[41][42] A nun was injured in Barangay Lourdes in Valencia City after the incident. Valencia City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported that 144 houses and structures were destroyed. Mayor Ignacio Zubiri of Malaybalay City reported no casualties nor damage in his city.^[43] The quakes were of tectonic in origin. A total of 131 aftershocks were recorded after the 5.6 quake in September 4, 2012.^[44]
• A 6.2 earthquake struck off the coast of Southern Mindanao on February 16, 2013, 28 kilometers southeast of Caburan, Davao del Sur. According to the United States Geological Survey, the quake struck at a depth of 98.2 km.^[45][46]
• A 5.7 earthquake struck the island of Mindanao on June 1, 2013.^[47] The quake's epicenter was located in Carmen, Cotabato and struck with a depth of 5 kilometers.^[48][49] The said quake injured six people, 4 of them were children, and fully or partly destroyed several houses, and some school buildings.^[50][51] It also damaged a bridge at Barangay Kimadzil, and another one at Barangay Kibudtungan.^[52] The quake was followed by 15 aftershocks, the last one was followed by a 4.3 quake on June 2, 2013.^[53] The quake caused ₱71-million worth of damage. Another quake jolted the said town after 4:00 AM on June 3, 2013. The quake was recorded at 5.7 and struck at a depth of 3 kilometers.^[54] The newest quake further injured 8 more people, and damaged more houses. Classes which was slated to open on June 3, 2013, were cancelled due to a series of quakes that hit the town since June 1, 2013.^[55]
• A magnitude of 7.2 earthquake struck Bohol on October 15, 2013 at 8:12 a.m. (PST).^[56] Its epicenter was located 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) SW of Sagbayan at a depth of 12 kilometres (7.5 mi). According to the official report by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, 222 were reported dead while 796 people were injured. Tens of thousands of structures were damaged by the earthquake. Most notable were the national historical churches in Bohol and Cebu.

• Loon Church before and after the Bohol earthquake of October 15, 2013
• 
  Loon Church prior to the earthquake
• 
  The rubble that was Loon Church after the quake

• A magnitude of 5.8 earthquake struck Occidental Mindoro on June 25, 2014, at 7:52 p.m. at a depth of 53 km.
• A magnitude of 5.9 quake struck San Antonio, Zambales before dawn of Sunday, January 11, 2015, at 3:32 am at a depth of 48 km.
• A magnitude of 6.1 quake struck 47 km N 47°E of Burgos (Surigao del Norte) on July 3, 2015, 2:43 pm at a depth of 26 km.^[57]
• A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck 10 km SW of Basilisa, Dinagat Islands on February 10, 2017, 10:03 pm at a depth of 15 km.
• Batangas experiences an earthquake swarm in April 2017. A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 5 km W of Batangas on April 4, 2017, 8:58 pm at a depth of 82 km. Twin earthquakes with magnitudes of 5.6 and 6.0 hit the barangays of Bagalangit and Tanauan, both in Mabini, Batangas respectively on April 8, 2017, 3:07 and 3:09 pm at a depth of 40.4 km. Damages on some buildings and houses have been reported. Several aftershocks followed.
• A magnitude of 5.4 earthquake struck 74 km N 33°E of Palapag, Northern Samar on April 10, 2017, at 8:43 am at a depth of 17 km.
• A magnitude of 5.7 earthquake struck 199 km S 54°E of Governor Generoso, Davao Oriental on April 10, 2017 at 6:38 pm at a depth of 43 km.
• A magnitude of 7.2 earthquake struck 47 km S 26° W of Sarangani and Davao Occidental provinces on April 29, 2017 at 4:23 am at a depth of 57 km.
• A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 2 km W 15° SW of San Narciso, Zambales on May 26, 2017 at 10:27 pm at a depth of 10 km. The quake was felt in nearby provinces including Metro Manila and some parts of Northern, Central and Southern Luzon.
• A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 3 km S 16° E of Jaro, Leyte on July 6, 2017 at 4:03 pm at a depth of 8 km. It caused island-wide blackouts in the provinces of Samar, Bohol, Leyte, and parts of Southern Leyte. In Kananga, a commercial building collapsed killing two persons and injuring 20 others. In Ormoc City, a landslide was triggered. One person was killed and more than 100 people are feared trapped.
• A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 3 km S 87° SE of Ormoc City, Leyte on July 10, 2017 at 9:41 am at a depth of 3 km. Dozen of high school students lost consciousness and fainted after the quake. Classes suspended in Ormoc City. This was an aftershock of the M6.5 that hit Jaro on July 6, 2017.
• A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 18 km S 36° W of Nasugbu, Batangas on August 11, 2017 at 1:28 pm at a depth of 177 km.

Deadliest earthquakes

The table below is a tally of the ten deadliest recorded earthquakes in the Philippines since the 1600s:

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Earthquakes in the Philippines.

• Official website of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology
• Latest Earthquake Bulletin in the Philippines
• Official website of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council