Reviewed by USGSPhilippines117y ago
M7.0 earthquake 49 km NW of Basco, Philippines
Thursday, September 1, 1910, 00:44:29 UTC · 20.741°N, 121.617°E
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 49 km NW of Basco, Philippines on Thursday, September 1, 1910, 00:44:29 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.2 on January 11, 1908.
- Magnitude
- 7.0
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
461 kilotons of TNT
That is about 31 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 966 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
128 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
15 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.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 8 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.2108 km E of Hengchun, TaiwanJanuary 11, 1908 · 149 km N of this epicenter
- 7.171 km NE of San Vicente, PhilippinesJune 19, 1906 · 218 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.9128 km NNW of Davila, PhilippinesOctober 17, 1906 · 201 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.861 km NW of Davila, PhilippinesMay 31, 1905 · 253 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.323 km E of Donggang, TaiwanJune 17, 1910 · 219 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.250 km WSW of Hengchun, TaiwanSeptember 22, 1907 · 185 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.264 km E of Santa Ana, PhilippinesMay 25, 1907 · 287 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.197 km ENE of Hengchun, TaiwanMarch 26, 1906 · 180 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 5 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,260 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1721
Tainan
1721 · 291 km away
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1736M6.0
Tainan
30 Jan 1736 · 295 km away · intensity VIII
260 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1721M6.0
Tainan
5 Jan 1721 · 286 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1892
Batan Island,San Domingo
8 Mar 1892 · 49 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1720M5.5
Tainan
31 Oct 1720 · 146 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.