M7.7 earthquake 74 km ENE of Barcelona, Philippines

Wednesday, July 12, 1911, 04:07:38 UTC · 8.488°N, 127.029°E

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck 74 km ENE of Barcelona, Philippines on Wednesday, July 12, 1911, 04:07:38 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.

Magnitude: 7.7; Major · mw
Depth: 15 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 0; Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking: VI; Strong (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

5.4 megatons of TNT

That is about 355 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 11,220 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

10 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

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 200 km

USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 5 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 13 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 4 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1870
Mindanao: Davao,Blanco
4 Nov 1870 · 244 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
1879
Nw Mindanao: Surigao
30 Jun 1879 · 222 km away · intensity X
Extreme damage ($25M+)
1911M7.8
Mindanao: Talacogon,Davao,Butuan
12 Jul 1911 · 127 km away · intensity X
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1871
Camiguin Island: Mambajao,Catarman
20 Feb 1871 · 271 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1885
E Mindanao: Surigao
22 Feb 1885 · 222 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)
1903M7.8
Davao Gulf
28 Dec 1903 · 201 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)

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

Nearby trackers