Reviewed by USGSPhilippines50y ago
M4.5 earthquake 21 km WNW of Malabang, Philippines
Sunday, September 12, 1976, 00:54:48 UTC · 7.640°N, 123.878°E
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 21 km WNW of Malabang, Philippines on Sunday, September 12, 1976, 00:54:48 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.3 on September 11, 1976.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 33 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
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
369 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
33 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 192 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 · 234 km S of this epicenter
- 8.11924 Mindanao, Philippines EarthquakeApril 14, 1924 · 277 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.919 km WNW of Palimbang, PhilippinesAugust 16, 1976 · 154 km S of this epicenter
- 7.410 km ESE of Basak, PhilippinesDecember 19, 1928 · 111 km S of this epicenter
- 7.4Mindanao, PhilippinesMarch 31, 1955 · 79 km W of this epicenter
- 7.312 km SSW of Kipit, PhilippinesOctober 20, 1942 · 159 km W of this epicenter
- 7.25 km ESE of Veruela, PhilippinesJune 13, 1929 · 238 km E of this epicenter
- 7.25 km NW of Kadingilan, PhilippinesMarch 2, 1923 · 110 km E 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 8,660 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1976M8.0
Mindanao: S
16 Aug 1976 · 152 km away · intensity VI
8,000 deaths$134 million damagetsunami
- 1955M7.4
Mindanao: Lanao,Ozamiz,Cotabato
31 Mar 1955 · 79 km away · intensity VIII
465 deaths$5 million damagetsunami
- 1928M7.4
Cotabato,N Coast Of Illana Bay
19 Dec 1928 · 111 km away · intensity VII
97 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1918M8.3
Mindanao: Cotabato
15 Aug 1918 · 234 km away · intensity X
52 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1925M6.8
W. Luzon Island, Philippines
5 May 1925 · 226 km away · intensity IX
17 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1897M8.7
Mindanao, Zamboanga, Sulu, Isabela
21 Sep 1897 · 276 km away · intensity IX
13 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.