Reviewed by USGSPhilippines113y ago
M6.8 earthquake 29 km NNW of Roxas City, Philippines
Friday, March 12, 1915, 14:48:32 UTC · 11.844°N, 122.695°E
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck 29 km NNW of Roxas City, Philippines on Friday, March 12, 1915, 14:48:32 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.1 on March 5, 1908.
- Magnitude
- 6.8
- 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
256 kilotons of TNT
That is about 17 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 537 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
343 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 6 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.57 km N of Luklukan, PhilippinesApril 18, 1907 · 283 km N of this epicenter
- 7.15 km N of Capoocan, PhilippinesMarch 5, 1908 · 220 km E of this epicenter
- 6.6Luzon, PhilippinesNovember 24, 1907 · 169 km N of this epicenter
- 6.55 km SSW of Mantalongon, PhilippinesOctober 11, 1906 · 218 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.23 km WSW of Irosin, PhilippinesNovember 8, 1912 · 170 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 32 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 59 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1840M6.5
Sorsogon,Masbate Is,Casiguran,Albay
22 Mar 1840 · 176 km away · intensity IX
52 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1743
Luzon: Tayabas,Laguna
12 Jan 1743 · 267 km away · intensity X
5 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1907M7.6
Se Luzon: Camarines
18 Apr 1907 · 242 km away · intensity IX
2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1897M7.9
Masbate Island
13 May 1897 · 143 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1869M7.0
Masbate Island
16 Aug 1869 · 114 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1743
Leyte
Sep 1743 · 189 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.