Reported by EMSCPhilippines23d ago
M3.0 earthquake in Mindanao, Philippines
Thursday, September 3, 2026, 23:07:59 UTC · 7.120°N, 123.580°E
A magnitude 3.0 earthquake struck in Mindanao, Philippines on Thursday, September 3, 2026, 23:07:59 UTC, at a depth of 26.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.0
- Minor · m
- Depth
- 26 km
- Shallow
- Reported by
- EMSC
- Agency PIVS
- Nearest tracker
- 74 km
- from Cotabato
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
477 kg of TNT
That is about 1/31,575 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1,000 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
404 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Philippine Sea and Sunda plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
26 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 50 km
USGS and EMSC have not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km since this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 751 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.31918 Mindanao, Philippines EarthquakeAugust 15, 1918 · 182 km S of this epicenter
- 8.11924 Mindanao, Philippines EarthquakeApril 14, 1924 · 291 km E of this epicenter
- 7.919 km WNW of Palimbang, PhilippinesAugust 16, 1976 · 107 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.825 km SW of Kablalan, PhilippinesJune 7, 2026 · 235 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.661 km W of Bantogon, PhilippinesJuly 23, 2010 · 70 km S of this epicenter
- 7.5Mindanao, PhilippinesMarch 5, 2002 · 142 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.545 km SW of Sarangani, PhilippinesNovember 20, 1984 · 276 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.572 km S of Panubigan, PhilippinesJuly 23, 2010 · 52 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 48 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 8,835 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1976M8.0
Mindanao: S
16 Aug 1976 · 108 km away · intensity VI
8,000 deaths$134 million damagetsunami
- 1955M7.4
Mindanao: Lanao,Ozamiz,Cotabato
31 Mar 1955 · 76 km away · intensity VIII
465 deaths$5 million damagetsunami
- 2026M7.8
Mindanao: S; Indonesia
7 Jun 2026 · 235 km away · intensity VIII
107 deaths$25 million damagetsunami
- 1928M7.4
Cotabato,N Coast Of Illana Bay
19 Dec 1928 · 87 km away · intensity VII
97 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1918M8.3
Mindanao: Cotabato
15 Aug 1918 · 182 km away · intensity X
52 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1925M6.8
W. Luzon Island, Philippines
5 May 1925 · 261 km away · intensity IX
17 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.