QuakeScout
Magnitude3.9

Reported by EMSC12d ago

M3.9 earthquake in Philippine Islands Region

Tuesday, September 15, 2026, 02:51:21 UTC · 7.200°N, 127.330°E

A magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck in Philippine Islands Region on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, 02:51:21 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow).

Magnitude
3.9
Minor · m
Depth
10 km
Shallow
Reported by
EMSC
Agency PIVS
Nearest tracker
207 km
from Davao

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

11 tons of TNT

That is about 1/1,410 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 45 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

11 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

10 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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km since this event; the largest was M3.8 on September 16, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M41h6h1d3d7dMainshock M3.9
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 3.8Philippine Islands Region11d ago · 32 km W of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 1,801 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.11924 Mindanao, Philippines EarthquakeApril 14, 1924 · 143 km SW of this epicenter
  2. 8.01972 Mindanao, Philippines EarthquakeDecember 2, 1972 · 113 km SW of this epicenter
  3. 7.947 km ESE of Kalbay, PhilippinesMarch 14, 1913 · 243 km SW of this epicenter
  4. 7.877 km E of Baculin, PhilippinesMay 25, 1943 · 20 km N of this epicenter
  5. 7.774 km ENE of Barcelona, PhilippinesJuly 12, 1911 · 147 km N of this epicenter
  6. 7.619 km E of Gamut, PhilippinesDecember 2, 2023 · 179 km NW of this epicenter
  7. 7.6223 km ESE of Sarangani, PhilippinesJanuary 30, 1969 · 282 km S of this epicenter
  8. 7.637 km ENE of Barcelona, PhilippinesDecember 15, 1989 · 143 km NW of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 50 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 211 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1913M7.8

    Sangihe Island

    14 Mar 1913 · 245 km away · intensity IX

    138 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  2. 2019M6.8

    Mindanao: Davao

    15 Dec 2019 · 243 km away

    13 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)

  3. 2019M6.6

    Mindanao: Cotabato, Davao

    29 Oct 2019 · 257 km away

    13 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  4. 2025M7.4

    Mindanao

    10 Oct 2025 · 71 km away · intensity VI

    10 deaths$6 million damagetsunami

  5. 2019M6.5

    Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat

    31 Oct 2019 · 242 km away

    10 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)

  6. 2019M6.4

    Mindanao: Cotabato, Davao

    16 Oct 2019 · 262 km away · intensity VII

    7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers

Closest city pages