Reviewed by USGSPhilippines70y ago
M5.8 earthquake 98 km SE of Pondaguitan, Philippines
Thursday, September 26, 1957, 18:46:50 UTC · 5.868°N, 126.914°E
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck 98 km SE of Pondaguitan, Philippines on Thursday, September 26, 1957, 18:46:50 UTC, at a depth of 55.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.1 on September 25, 1957.
- Magnitude
- 5.8
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 55 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
7 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 14 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
58 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
55 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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 135 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.11924 Mindanao, Philippines EarthquakeApril 14, 1924 · 118 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.947 km ESE of Kalbay, PhilippinesMarch 14, 1913 · 119 km W of this epicenter
- 7.877 km E of Baculin, PhilippinesMay 25, 1943 · 172 km N of this epicenter
- 7.8161 km SE of Sarangani, PhilippinesApril 1, 1936 · 188 km S of this epicenter
- 7.774 km ENE of Barcelona, PhilippinesJuly 12, 1911 · 292 km N of this epicenter
- 7.6101 km SE of Sarangani, PhilippinesDecember 16, 1910 · 166 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.5210 km SSE of Sarangani, PhilippinesAugust 17, 1912 · 276 km S of this epicenter
- 7.5273 km N of Tobelo, IndonesiaOctober 23, 1914 · 222 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 22 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,955 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1856
Sangihe Pulau (Volcanic)
2 Mar 1856 · 290 km away
2,806 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1913M7.8
Sangihe Island
14 Mar 1913 · 105 km away · intensity IX
138 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1917M6.4
S Mindanao: Glan,Glan Padidu,Tuyan
31 Jan 1917 · 212 km away · intensity IX
7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1870
Mindanao: Davao,Blanco
4 Nov 1870 · 209 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1924M8.3
E Mindanao: Mati,Suriga
14 Apr 1924 · 84 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1903M7.8
Davao Gulf
28 Dec 1903 · 161 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.