Reported by EMSCPhilippines1d ago
M3.1 earthquake in Moro Gulf, Mindanao, Philippines
Friday, September 25, 2026, 22:23:31 UTC · 6.460°N, 123.700°E
A magnitude 3.1 earthquake struck in Moro Gulf, Mindanao, Philippines on Friday, September 25, 2026, 22:23:31 UTC, at a depth of 2.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.1
- Minor · m
- Depth
- 2 km
- Shallow
- Reported by
- EMSC
- Agency PIVS
- Nearest tracker
- 104 km
- from Cotabato
Outlined circle: this earthquake
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
393 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
2 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 have not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km since this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 916 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 · 108 km S of this epicenter
- 8.11924 Mindanao, Philippines EarthquakeApril 14, 1924 · 273 km E of this epicenter
- 7.919 km WNW of Palimbang, PhilippinesAugust 16, 1976 · 42 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.947 km ESE of Kalbay, PhilippinesMarch 14, 1913 · 263 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.825 km SW of Kablalan, PhilippinesJune 7, 2026 · 178 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.661 km W of Bantogon, PhilippinesJuly 23, 2010 · 25 km W of this epicenter
- 7.5Mindanao, PhilippinesMarch 5, 2002 · 77 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.545 km SW of Sarangani, PhilippinesNovember 20, 1984 · 213 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 45 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 8,956 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1976M8.0
Mindanao: S
16 Aug 1976 · 47 km away · intensity VI
8,000 deaths$134 million damagetsunami
- 1955M7.4
Mindanao: Lanao,Ozamiz,Cotabato
31 Mar 1955 · 146 km away · intensity VIII
465 deaths$5 million damagetsunami
- 1913M7.8
Sangihe Island
14 Mar 1913 · 295 km away · intensity IX
138 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 2026M7.8
Mindanao: S; Indonesia
7 Jun 2026 · 177 km away · intensity VIII
107 deaths$25 million damagetsunami
- 1928M7.4
Cotabato,N Coast Of Illana Bay
19 Dec 1928 · 66 km away · intensity VII
97 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1918M8.3
Mindanao: Cotabato
15 Aug 1918 · 108 km away · intensity X
52 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.