Reviewed by USGSPhilippines1mo ago
M4.6 earthquake 117 km ESE of Sarangani, Philippines
Wednesday, August 5, 2026, 04:43:32 UTC · 4.959°N, 126.424°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 117 km ESE of Sarangani, Philippines on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, 04:43:32 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.9 on August 5, 2026.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 10 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
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
10 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 50 km
USGS lists 6 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.6 on August 5, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.494 km ESE of Sarangani, Philippines1mo ago · 23 km W of this epicenter
- 4.469 km ESE of Sarangani, Philippines1mo ago · 48 km NW of this epicenter
- 4.3119 km SE of Sarangani, Philippines1mo ago · 45 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.399 km SE of Sarangani, Philippines1mo ago · 25 km W of this epicenter
- 4.3124 km ESE of Sarangani, Philippines1mo ago · 14 km NE of this epicenter
- 4.672 km SE of Sarangani, Philippines1mo ago · 50 km W of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 2,240 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.31918 Mindanao, Philippines EarthquakeAugust 15, 1918 · 277 km W of this epicenter
- 8.11924 Mindanao, Philippines EarthquakeApril 14, 1924 · 187 km N of this epicenter
- 8.01972 Mindanao, Philippines EarthquakeDecember 2, 1972 · 166 km N of this epicenter
- 7.947 km ESE of Kalbay, PhilippinesMarch 14, 1913 · 88 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.825 km SW of Kablalan, PhilippinesJune 7, 2026 · 167 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.877 km E of Baculin, PhilippinesMay 25, 1943 · 284 km N of this epicenter
- 7.8161 km SE of Sarangani, PhilippinesApril 1, 1936 · 77 km S of this epicenter
- 7.7228 km SW of Sarangani, PhilippinesJune 11, 1972 · 280 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 41 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 11,195 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1976M8.0
Mindanao: S
16 Aug 1976 · 298 km away · intensity VI
8,000 deaths$134 million damagetsunami
- 1856
Sangihe Pulau (Volcanic)
2 Mar 1856 · 176 km away
2,806 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1913M7.8
Sangihe Island
14 Mar 1913 · 55 km away · intensity IX
138 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 2026M7.8
Mindanao: S; Indonesia
7 Jun 2026 · 168 km away · intensity VIII
107 deaths$25 million damagetsunami
- 1918M8.3
Mindanao: Cotabato
15 Aug 1918 · 277 km away · intensity X
52 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 2002M7.5
Mindanao
5 Mar 2002 · 269 km away
15 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.