Reviewed by USGSPhilippines54y ago
M5.3 earthquake 7 km N of Davan, Philippines
Tuesday, January 9, 1973, 06:14:25 UTC · 6.983°N, 126.151°E
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 7 km N of Davan, Philippines on Tuesday, January 9, 1973, 06:14:25 UTC, at a depth of 51.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.9 on December 28, 1972.
- Magnitude
- 5.3
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 51 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
1 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/11 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 3 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
120 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
51 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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 256 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 · 288 km SW of this epicenter
- 8.11924 Mindanao, Philippines EarthquakeApril 14, 1924 · 40 km S of this epicenter
- 8.01972 Mindanao, Philippines EarthquakeDecember 2, 1972 · 84 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.947 km ESE of Kalbay, PhilippinesMarch 14, 1913 · 163 km S of this epicenter
- 7.877 km E of Baculin, PhilippinesMay 25, 1943 · 132 km E of this epicenter
- 7.774 km ENE of Barcelona, PhilippinesJuly 12, 1911 · 193 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.6101 km SE of Sarangani, PhilippinesDecember 16, 1910 · 258 km S of this epicenter
- 7.6223 km ESE of Sarangani, PhilippinesJanuary 30, 1969 · 290 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 33 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 298 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1913M7.8
Sangihe Island
14 Mar 1913 · 181 km away · intensity IX
138 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1928M7.4
Cotabato,N Coast Of Illana Bay
19 Dec 1928 · 213 km away · intensity VII
97 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1918M8.3
Mindanao: Cotabato
15 Aug 1918 · 288 km away · intensity X
52 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1917M6.4
S Mindanao: Glan,Glan Padidu,Tuyan
31 Jan 1917 · 168 km away · intensity IX
7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1870
Mindanao: Davao,Blanco
4 Nov 1870 · 83 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1924M8.3
E Mindanao: Mati,Suriga
14 Apr 1924 · 66 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.