Reported by EMSCPhilippines16d ago
M3.0 earthquake in Mindanao, Philippines
Friday, September 11, 2026, 12:50:15 UTC · 8.390°N, 126.600°E
A magnitude 3.0 earthquake struck in Mindanao, Philippines on Friday, September 11, 2026, 12:50:15 UTC, at a depth of 22.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.0
- Minor · m
- Depth
- 22 km
- Shallow
- Reported by
- EMSC
- Agency PIVS
- Nearest tracker
- 132 km
- from Butuan
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
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
58 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Philippine Sea and Sunda plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
22 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 list 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km since this event; the largest was M3.3 on September 18, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1,862 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.11924 Mindanao, Philippines EarthquakeApril 14, 1924 · 202 km S of this epicenter
- 8.01972 Mindanao, Philippines EarthquakeDecember 2, 1972 · 218 km S of this epicenter
- 7.877 km E of Baculin, PhilippinesMay 25, 1943 · 136 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.774 km ENE of Barcelona, PhilippinesJuly 12, 1911 · 48 km E of this epicenter
- 7.619 km E of Gamut, PhilippinesDecember 2, 2023 · 25 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.689 km E of Sulangan, PhilippinesAugust 31, 2012 · 269 km N of this epicenter
- 7.637 km ENE of Barcelona, PhilippinesDecember 15, 1989 · 15 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.521 km SE of Lukatan, PhilippinesJanuary 1, 2001 · 166 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 58 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 84 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2019M6.8
Mindanao: Davao
15 Dec 2019 · 243 km away
13 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 2019M6.6
Mindanao: Cotabato, Davao
29 Oct 2019 · 246 km away
13 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 2025M7.4
Mindanao
10 Oct 2025 · 123 km away · intensity VI
10 deaths$6 million damagetsunami
- 2019M6.5
Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat
31 Oct 2019 · 229 km away
10 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 2017M6.5
Surigao Del Norte
10 Feb 2017 · 211 km away · intensity VIII
8 deaths$40 million damage
- 2019M6.4
Mindanao: Cotabato, Davao
16 Oct 2019 · 256 km away · intensity VII
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.