M7.5 earthquake 210 km SSE of Sarangani, Philippines

Saturday, August 17, 1912, 19:11:56 UTC · 3.568°N, 125.973°E

A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck 210 km SSE of Sarangani, Philippines on Saturday, August 17, 1912, 19:11:56 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.6 on December 16, 1910.

Magnitude: 7.5; Major · mw
Depth: 35 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

2.6 megatons of TNT

That is about 172 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 5,433 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

168 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Birds Head plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: shallow

35 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 6 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 11 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,924 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1856
Sangihe Pulau (Volcanic)
2 Mar 1856 · 54 km away
2,806 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1845M7.0
N Sulawesi: Menado, Tikala, Tomohon
8 Feb 1845 · 264 km away · intensity IX
118 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1858M7.3
N. Moluccas Islands
13 Dec 1858 · 286 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1889M8.0
N. Moluccas Islands
6 Sep 1889 · 287 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1857
Sulawesi Island: Kema
17 Nov 1857 · 261 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1894
Se Mindanao: Davao Gulf
9 Feb 1894 · 270 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)

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

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