QuakeScout
Magnitude3.0

Reported by EMSCPhilippines10d ago

M3.0 earthquake in Mindanao, Philippines

Thursday, September 17, 2026, 10:10:00 UTC · 9.350°N, 125.500°E

A magnitude 3.0 earthquake struck in Mindanao, Philippines on Thursday, September 17, 2026, 10:10:00 UTC, at a depth of 3.0 km (shallow).

Magnitude
3.0
Minor · m
Depth
3 km
Shallow
Reported by
EMSC
Agency PIVS
Nearest tracker
45 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

142 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

3 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 M3.3 on September 18, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M31h6h1d3d7dMainshock M3.0
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 3.3Mindanao, Philippines9d ago · 17 km SE of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 1,683 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.877 km E of Baculin, PhilippinesMay 25, 1943 · 294 km SE of this epicenter
  2. 7.774 km ENE of Barcelona, PhilippinesJuly 12, 1911 · 193 km SE of this epicenter
  3. 7.619 km E of Gamut, PhilippinesDecember 2, 2023 · 136 km SE of this epicenter
  4. 7.689 km E of Sulangan, PhilippinesAugust 31, 2012 · 205 km NE of this epicenter
  5. 7.637 km ENE of Barcelona, PhilippinesDecember 15, 1989 · 176 km SE of this epicenter
  6. 7.521 km SE of Lukatan, PhilippinesJanuary 1, 2001 · 297 km SE of this epicenter
  7. 7.462 km E of Baculin, PhilippinesNovember 11, 1921 · 278 km SE of this epicenter
  8. 7.412 km E of Santiago, PhilippinesOctober 10, 2025 · 264 km SE of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 68 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 449 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 2013M7.1

    Bohol, Cebu, Siquijor Is

    15 Oct 2013 · 163 km away · intensity IX

    222 deaths$52 million damage

  2. 2025M6.9

    Cebu, Central Visayas

    30 Sep 2025 · 250 km away · intensity VII

    79 deaths$1 million damage

  3. 2012M6.7

    Negros Oriental Province

    6 Feb 2012 · 262 km away · intensity VIII

    51 deaths$9 million damagetsunami

  4. 2019M6.8

    Mindanao: Davao

    15 Dec 2019 · 296 km away

    13 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)

  5. 2019M6.6

    Mindanao: Cotabato, Davao

    29 Oct 2019 · 288 km away

    13 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  6. 2025M7.4

    Mindanao

    10 Oct 2025 · 264 km away · intensity VI

    10 deaths$6 million damagetsunami

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

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