Magnitude6.1

Reviewed by USGSPhilippines109y ago

M6.1 earthquake 10 km SE of Bukid, Philippines

Thursday, September 5, 1918, 07:05:34 UTC · 5.501°N, 125.465°E

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 10 km SE of Bukid, Philippines on Thursday, September 5, 1918, 07:05:34 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.1 on August 18, 1918.

Magnitude
6.1
Strong · mw
Depth
15 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

22 kilotons of TNT

That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 46 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

222 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

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 100 km

USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 18 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 3,007 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1856

    Sangihe Pulau (Volcanic)

    2 Mar 1856 · 204 km away

    2,806 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  2. 1913M7.8

    Sangihe Island

    14 Mar 1913 · 74 km away · intensity IX

    138 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1918M8.3

    Mindanao: Cotabato

    15 Aug 1918 · 163 km away · intensity X

    52 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  4. 1917M6.4

    S Mindanao: Glan,Glan Padidu,Tuyan

    31 Jan 1917 · 76 km away · intensity IX

    7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  5. 1870

    Mindanao: Davao,Blanco

    4 Nov 1870 · 167 km away

    4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)

  6. 1871

    W Mindanao: Cotabato,Polloc Harbor

    8 Dec 1871 · 253 km away · intensity IX

    Severe damage ($5–24M)

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

Nearby trackers

Closest city pages