Reported by EMSCPhilippines10d ago
M3.6 earthquake in Mindanao, Philippines
Thursday, September 17, 2026, 14:21:39 UTC · 5.820°N, 125.890°E
A magnitude 3.6 earthquake struck in Mindanao, Philippines on Thursday, September 17, 2026, 14:21:39 UTC, at a depth of 138.0 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 3.6
- Minor · m
- Depth
- 138 km
- Intermediate
- Reported by
- EMSC
- Agency PIVS
- Nearest tracker
- 86 km
- from General Santos
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
4 tons of TNT
That is about 1/3,975 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 126 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
166 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: intermediate
138 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 2,141 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 · 212 km W of this epicenter
- 8.11924 Mindanao, Philippines EarthquakeApril 14, 1924 · 95 km N of this epicenter
- 8.01972 Mindanao, Philippines EarthquakeDecember 2, 1972 · 109 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.919 km WNW of Palimbang, PhilippinesAugust 16, 1976 · 212 km W of this epicenter
- 7.947 km ESE of Kalbay, PhilippinesMarch 14, 1913 · 31 km S of this epicenter
- 7.825 km SW of Kablalan, PhilippinesJune 7, 2026 · 95 km W of this epicenter
- 7.877 km E of Baculin, PhilippinesMay 25, 1943 · 231 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.8161 km SE of Sarangani, PhilippinesApril 1, 1936 · 181 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 55 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 11,295 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1976M8.0
Mindanao: S
16 Aug 1976 · 206 km away · intensity VI
8,000 deaths$134 million damagetsunami
- 1856
Sangihe Pulau (Volcanic)
2 Mar 1856 · 243 km away
2,806 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1913M7.8
Sangihe Island
14 Mar 1913 · 58 km away · intensity IX
138 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 2026M7.8
Mindanao: S; Indonesia
7 Jun 2026 · 97 km away · intensity VIII
107 deaths$25 million damagetsunami
- 1928M7.4
Cotabato,N Coast Of Illana Bay
19 Dec 1928 · 207 km away · intensity VII
97 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1918M8.3
Mindanao: Cotabato
15 Aug 1918 · 212 km away · intensity X
52 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.