Reviewed by USGSPhilippines4d ago
M4.2 earthquake 21 km ENE of Lais, Philippines
Wednesday, September 23, 2026, 14:19:32 UTC · 6.426°N, 125.822°E
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 21 km ENE of Lais, Philippines on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, 14:19:32 UTC, at a depth of 150.3 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 4.2
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 150 km
- Intermediate
- 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
30 tons of TNT
That is about 1/500 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 16 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
158 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: intermediate
150 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km since this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 2,180 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 · 225 km SW of this epicenter
- 8.11924 Mindanao, Philippines EarthquakeApril 14, 1924 · 44 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.01972 Mindanao, Philippines EarthquakeDecember 2, 1972 · 93 km E of this epicenter
- 7.919 km WNW of Palimbang, PhilippinesAugust 16, 1976 · 200 km W of this epicenter
- 7.947 km ESE of Kalbay, PhilippinesMarch 14, 1913 · 98 km S of this epicenter
- 7.825 km SW of Kablalan, PhilippinesJune 7, 2026 · 125 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.877 km E of Baculin, PhilippinesMay 25, 1943 · 192 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.8161 km SE of Sarangani, PhilippinesApril 1, 1936 · 248 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 61 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 8,494 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1976M8.0
Mindanao: S
16 Aug 1976 · 192 km away · intensity VI
8,000 deaths$134 million damagetsunami
- 1913M7.8
Sangihe Island
14 Mar 1913 · 124 km away · intensity IX
138 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 2026M7.8
Mindanao: S; Indonesia
7 Jun 2026 · 126 km away · intensity VIII
107 deaths$25 million damagetsunami
- 1928M7.4
Cotabato,N Coast Of Illana Bay
19 Dec 1928 · 177 km away · intensity VII
97 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1918M8.3
Mindanao: Cotabato
15 Aug 1918 · 225 km away · intensity X
52 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 2002M7.5
Mindanao
5 Mar 2002 · 179 km away
15 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.