Reviewed by USGSPhilippines5y ago
M4.2 earthquake 96 km SSE of Pondaguitan, Philippines
Friday, September 10, 2021, 04:04:16 UTC · 5.557°N, 126.513°E
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 96 km SSE of Pondaguitan, Philippines on Friday, September 10, 2021, 04:04:16 UTC, at a depth of 61.9 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.2
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 62 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
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
108 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
62 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 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.6 on September 11, 2021. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1,828 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 · 279 km W of this epicenter
- 8.11924 Mindanao, Philippines EarthquakeApril 14, 1924 · 125 km N of this epicenter
- 8.01972 Mindanao, Philippines EarthquakeDecember 2, 1972 · 99 km N of this epicenter
- 7.919 km WNW of Palimbang, PhilippinesAugust 16, 1976 · 286 km W of this epicenter
- 7.947 km ESE of Kalbay, PhilippinesMarch 14, 1913 · 69 km W of this epicenter
- 7.877 km E of Baculin, PhilippinesMay 25, 1943 · 219 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.8161 km SE of Sarangani, PhilippinesApril 1, 1936 · 145 km S of this epicenter
- 7.6101 km SE of Sarangani, PhilippinesDecember 16, 1910 · 113 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 45 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 11,164 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1976M8.0
Mindanao: S
16 Aug 1976 · 280 km away · intensity VI
8,000 deaths$134 million damagetsunami
- 1856
Sangihe Pulau (Volcanic)
2 Mar 1856 · 238 km away
2,806 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1913M7.8
Sangihe Island
14 Mar 1913 · 49 km away · intensity IX
138 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1928M7.4
Cotabato,N Coast Of Illana Bay
19 Dec 1928 · 282 km away · intensity VII
97 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1918M8.3
Mindanao: Cotabato
15 Aug 1918 · 279 km away · intensity X
52 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 2002M7.5
Mindanao
5 Mar 2002 · 256 km away
15 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.