M7.2 earthquake 5 km ESE of Veruela, Philippines

Thursday, June 13, 1929, 09:24:43 UTC · 8.053°N, 126.000°E

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck 5 km ESE of Veruela, Philippines on Thursday, June 13, 1929, 09:24:43 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.4 on December 19, 1928.

Magnitude: 7.2; Major · mw
Depth: 35 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 0; Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking: VII; Very strong (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

985 kilotons of TNT

That is about 65 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 2,065 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

132 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

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 lists 13 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.4 on June 30, 1929. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 58 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 29 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 246 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1913M7.8
Sangihe Island
14 Mar 1913 · 300 km away · intensity IX
138 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1928M7.4
Cotabato,N Coast Of Illana Bay
19 Dec 1928 · 245 km away · intensity VII
97 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1917M6.4
S Mindanao: Glan,Glan Padidu,Tuyan
31 Jan 1917 · 254 km away · intensity IX
7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1870
Mindanao: Davao,Blanco
4 Nov 1870 · 134 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
1879
Nw Mindanao: Surigao
30 Jun 1879 · 202 km away · intensity X
Extreme damage ($25M+)
1924M8.3
E Mindanao: Mati,Suriga
14 Apr 1924 · 181 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers