QuakeScout
Magnitude3.1

Reported by EMSCPhilippines9d ago

M3.1 earthquake in Mindanao, Philippines

Friday, September 18, 2026, 03:20:42 UTC · 8.860°N, 126.370°E

A magnitude 3.1 earthquake struck in Mindanao, Philippines on Friday, September 18, 2026, 03:20:42 UTC, at a depth of 28.0 km (shallow).

Magnitude
3.1
Minor · m
Depth
28 km
Shallow
Reported by
EMSC
Agency PIVS
Nearest tracker
92 km
from Butuan

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

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

674 kg of TNT

That is about 1/22,353 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 708 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

67 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

28 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 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km since this event; the largest was M4.6 on September 20, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M41h6h1d3d7dMainshock M3.1
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 4.2Mindanao, Philippines4d ago · 37 km NE of this epicenter
  2. 4.62 km S of Buenavista, Philippines7d ago · 35 km NW of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 1,725 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 · 250 km S of this epicenter
  2. 8.01972 Mindanao, Philippines EarthquakeDecember 2, 1972 · 272 km S of this epicenter
  3. 7.877 km E of Baculin, PhilippinesMay 25, 1943 · 193 km SE of this epicenter
  4. 7.774 km ENE of Barcelona, PhilippinesJuly 12, 1911 · 83 km SE of this epicenter
  5. 7.619 km E of Gamut, PhilippinesDecember 2, 2023 · 37 km S of this epicenter
  6. 7.689 km E of Sulangan, PhilippinesAugust 31, 2012 · 219 km N of this epicenter
  7. 7.637 km ENE of Barcelona, PhilippinesDecember 15, 1989 · 70 km SE of this epicenter
  8. 7.521 km SE of Lukatan, PhilippinesJanuary 1, 2001 · 219 km S of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 60 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 313 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 2013M7.1

    Bohol, Cebu, Siquijor Is

    15 Oct 2013 · 272 km away · intensity IX

    222 deaths$52 million damage

  2. 2019M6.8

    Mindanao: Davao

    15 Dec 2019 · 272 km away

    13 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)

  3. 2019M6.6

    Mindanao: Cotabato, Davao

    29 Oct 2019 · 272 km away

    13 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  4. 2025M7.4

    Mindanao

    10 Oct 2025 · 178 km away · intensity VI

    10 deaths$6 million damagetsunami

  5. 2019M6.5

    Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat

    31 Oct 2019 · 255 km away

    10 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)

  6. 2017M6.5

    Surigao Del Norte

    10 Feb 2017 · 154 km away · intensity VIII

    8 deaths$40 million damage

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

Nearby trackers

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