Magnitude7.4

Reviewed by USGSPhilippines106y ago

M7.4 earthquake 62 km E of Baculin, Philippines

Friday, November 11, 1921, 18:36:18 UTC · 7.452°N, 127.151°E

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck 62 km E of Baculin, Philippines on Friday, November 11, 1921, 18:36:18 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.9 on March 14, 1913.

Magnitude
7.4
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

2.2 megatons of TNT

That is about 145 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 4,571 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

9 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 27 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 17 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 149 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1913M7.8

    Sangihe Island

    14 Mar 1913 · 260 km away · intensity IX

    138 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  2. 1917M6.4

    S Mindanao: Glan,Glan Padidu,Tuyan

    31 Jan 1917 · 287 km away · intensity IX

    7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1870

    Mindanao: Davao,Blanco

    4 Nov 1870 · 200 km away

    4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)

  4. 1911M7.8

    Mindanao: Talacogon,Davao,Butuan

    12 Jul 1911 · 214 km away · intensity X

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  5. 1903M7.8

    Davao Gulf

    28 Dec 1903 · 137 km away · intensity VIII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  6. 1878

    Near Mount Apo

    16 Sep 1878 · 234 km away · intensity VII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

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

Nearby trackers

Closest city pages