Reviewed by USGSPhilippines24d ago
M4.5 earthquake 36 km SE of Bobon, Philippines
Wednesday, September 2, 2026, 21:00:20 UTC · 6.634°N, 126.557°E
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 36 km SE of Bobon, Philippines on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, 21:00:20 UTC, at a depth of 72.2 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.2 on September 1, 2026.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 72 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
85 tons of TNT
That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
76 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Philippine Sea and Sunda plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: intermediate
72 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 2,086 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.11924 Mindanao, Philippines EarthquakeApril 14, 1924 · 43 km W of this epicenter
- 8.01972 Mindanao, Philippines EarthquakeDecember 2, 1972 · 26 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.919 km WNW of Palimbang, PhilippinesAugust 16, 1976 · 283 km W of this epicenter
- 7.947 km ESE of Kalbay, PhilippinesMarch 14, 1913 · 142 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.825 km SW of Kablalan, PhilippinesJune 7, 2026 · 202 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.877 km E of Baculin, PhilippinesMay 25, 1943 · 114 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.8161 km SE of Sarangani, PhilippinesApril 1, 1936 · 264 km S of this epicenter
- 7.774 km ENE of Barcelona, PhilippinesJuly 12, 1911 · 213 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 56 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 8,440 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1976M8.0
Mindanao: S
16 Aug 1976 · 275 km away · intensity VI
8,000 deaths$134 million damagetsunami
- 1913M7.8
Sangihe Island
14 Mar 1913 · 150 km away · intensity IX
138 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 2026M7.8
Mindanao: S; Indonesia
7 Jun 2026 · 203 km away · intensity VIII
107 deaths$25 million damagetsunami
- 1928M7.4
Cotabato,N Coast Of Illana Bay
19 Dec 1928 · 255 km away · intensity VII
97 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 2002M7.5
Mindanao
5 Mar 2002 · 264 km away
15 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 2019M6.8
Mindanao: Davao
15 Dec 2019 · 151 km away
13 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.