The Philippines lies within the zone of complex interaction between several tectonic plates, involving multiple subduction zones and one large zone of strike-slip, all of which are associated with major earthquakes. Many intraplate earthquakes of smaller magnitude also occur very regularly due to the interaction between the major tectonic plates in the region. The largest historical earthquake in the Philippines was the 1918 Celebes Sea earthquake with a magnitude of Mw 8.3.
Tectonic map of the Philippines | |
| Largest | Mw8.3 1918 Celebes Sea earthquake |
|---|---|
| Deadliest | Mw 8.0 1976 Moro Gulf earthquake 5,000–8,000 killed |
Tectonic setting
Much of the Philippines lie within the area of strongly tectonised blocks of mainly island arc origin, known as the Philippine Mobile Belt. To the east, the Philippine Sea plate is subducting beneath the mobile belt along the line of the Philippine Trench and the East Luzon Trench at the northern end of the belt. The convergence across this boundary is strongly oblique and the strike-slip component is accommodated by movement on the left lateral Philippine fault system. To the south of the Philippines lies the Molucca Sea Collision Zone, which involves opposite facing subduction zones to either side of the Molucca Sea plate. To the west of the mobile belt the Sunda plate is subducting eastwards beneath the belt along the lines of the Manila, Negros and Cotabato trenches. Within the Sunda plate, the oceanic crust of the Sulu Sea is subducting beneath the Sulu Ridge along the Sulu Trench. The Sunda plate carries with it parts of the Palawan Microcontinental Block, which has collided with the mobile belt at the Negros and Cotabato trenches.
The continuing movement of the tectonic plates leads to active faulting within the mobile belt, such as on the left lateral Cotabato Fault System that cuts across Mindanao and the right lateral Marikina Valley fault system on Luzon.
Earthquakes
This list includes earthquakes in the Philippines with a magnitude of 6.0 or higher, unless a lower-magnitude earthquake resulted in significant damage and/or casualties.
Spanish period (pre-1900)
| Date | Time‡ | Region(s) | Magnitude | Intensity | Casualties | Notes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1601 January 16 | 16:00 | Metro Manila, Calabarzon, and Central Luzon | VIII | Several | Earthquake duration lasted about 7 minutes. Aftershocks experienced the whole year. | ||
| 1636 December 12 | Zamboanga Peninsula | IX | Large-scale landslides are reported to have occurred at Point Flechas which is between the Moro Gulf's large bays of Illana and Sibuguey. | ||||
| 1645 November 30 | 20:00 | Central Luzon, Cagayan Valley, Cordillera, Ilocos Region, Calabarzon, Metro Manila, and Mimaropa | 7.5 | X | 600 dead, 3,000 injured | Dubbed as the "most terrible earthquake" in the annals of the Philippines. Greatly damaged ten newly constructed cathedrals in Manila, residential villas and buildings in the city and nearby provinces. Provinces in the north reported several alteration of the ground, disappearances of small villages, changes in the river course, sand eruptions, etc. Small tsunamis were reported in southern Luzon. | |
| 1645 December 5 | 23:00 | Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and Metro Manila | VIII | Major aftershock of the November 30, 1645 Luzon earthquake that further destroyed remaining buildings in Manila and nearby towns. Aftershocks ceased around March 1646. | |||
| 1665 June 19 | Metro Manila, Calabarzon, and Mimaropa | VIII | 19 | Areas with significant damage are Batangas and Mindoro. Only the Jesuit Church in Manila experienced great damage. | |||
| 1743 January 12 | 08:00 | Calabarzon | X | 5 deaths | Destructive in Tayabas Province (now Quezon), wrecking masonry structures in the town of Tayabas and others. | ||
| 1787 July 13 | 07:00 | Western Visayas | X | Many | Known as the "1787 Panay Earthquake". Many deaths are unrecorded, but there were 15 deaths reported in one building. | ||
| 1840 March 22 | Bicol Region | 6.5 | IX | 17 deaths, 200 injured | Numerous masonry buildings, churches and homes were destroyed across Sorsogon, Albay and Masbate | ||
| 1852 September 16 | 18:45 | Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and Metro Manila | IX | 3 | Several buildings were destroyed, many fissures opened, subsidences and landslides occurred. | ||
| 1863 June 3 | 19:20 | Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon | 6.5 | X | 400–1,000 deaths, 2,000+ injuries | 1863 Manila earthquake | |
| 1879 July 1 | 00:50 | Caraga, and Northern Mindanao | X | 1879 Surigao earthquake | |||
| 1880 July 14–25 | 04:40 | Calabarzon, Metro Manila, and Central Luzon | X | 20 dead, 50 injured | 1880 Luzon earthquakes | ||
| 1892 March 16 | 20:58 | Cordillera, and Ilocos Region | X | 2 | Stretches from Abra to La Union and Pangasinan. | ||
| 1897 September 21 | 13:15 | Zamboanga Peninsula, and Bangsamoro | 7.5 | IX | 13–100+ (second event) | 1897 Mindanao earthquakes A pair of large earthquakes off Mindanao |
20th century
| Date | Time‡ | Region(s) | Magnitude | Intensity | Casualties | Notes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1907 April 18 | 05:00 | Bicol Region, and Calabarzon | 7.6 | IX | 2 dead | Camarines and parts of SE Luzon are the areas most affected by the earthquake. | |
| 1911 July 12 | Caraga, Northern Mindanao, and Davao Region | 7.8 | X | Caused seiches in lakes and the Agusan River. Many homes damaged in Talacogon and Butuan | |||
| 1918 August 15 | 20:18 | Soccsksargen, Bangsamoro, and Davao Region | 8.3 | X | 46 dead | 1918 Celebes Sea earthquake | |
| 1924 April 15 | 00:20 | Davao Region, and Caraga | 8.3 | IX | ~500 | Known as the powerful "1924 Mati Earthquake". | |
| 1925 May 5 | 18:07 | Ilocos Region, Cordillera, and Central Luzon | 6.8 | IX | 17 dead | ||
| 1928 December 19 | 19:37 | Soccsksargen | 7.3 | VII | 93 dead | ||
| 1937 August 20 | 19:59 | Calabarzon, Bicol Region, and Metro Manila | 7.6 | VIII | 1 dead, 200 injured | ||
| 1948 January 25 | 01:46 | Western Visayas | 7.8 | X | 72 dead | 1948 Lady Caycay earthquake | |
| 1954 July 2 | 10:45 | Bicol Region | 6.8 | IX | 13 dead, 101 injured | ||
| 1955 April 1 | 02:17 | Northern Mindanao, Bangsamoro, and Soccsksargen | 7.6 | VIII | 465 dead, 898 injured | 1955 Lanao earthquake | |
| 1968 August 2 | 04:19 | Central Luzon, Cagayan Valley, Calabarzon, and Metro Manila | 7.3 | IX | 270 dead, 261 injured | 1968 Casiguran earthquake | |
| 1970 April 7 | 13:34 | Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Bicol Region, Cagayan Valley, Cordillera, and Ilocos Region | 7.3 | VI | 15 dead, 200 injured | ||
| 1973 March 17 | 16:30 | Calabarzon, and Bicol Region | 7.5 | IX | 15 dead, ~100 injured | 1973 Ragay Gulf earthquake | |
| 1976 August 17 | 00:11 | Bangsamoro, Soccsksargen, and Zamboanga Peninsula | 8.0 | VIII | 8,000 dead, 10,000 injured | 1976 Moro Gulf earthquake | |
| 1983 August 17 | 20:17 | Ilocos Region, Cordillera, and Cagayan Valley | 6.5 | VIII | 16 dead, 47 injured | 1983 Luzon earthquake | |
| 1985 April 24 | Cordillera | 6.1 | VII | 6 dead, 11 injured | There are significant damages in Baguio City and Benguet. | ||
| 1988 June 19 | 04:19 | Mimaropa | 6.2 | VII | 2 dead, 2 injured | 1988 Mindoro earthquake | |
| 1990 February 8 | 15:15 | Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao, and Negros Island Region | 6.8 | VII | 6 dead, >200 injured | 1990 Bohol Sea earthquake | |
| 1990 June 14 | 15:41 | Western Visayas | 7.1 | VIII | 8 dead, 41 injured | 1990 Panay earthquake | |
| 1990 July 16 | 16:26 | Cordillera, Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Metro Manila, and Calabarzon | 7.8 | IX | 1,621 dead, 3,000 injured | 1990 Luzon Earthquake | |
| 1994 November 14 | 03:15 | Mimaropa, and Calabarzon | 7.1 | VII | 81 dead, 225 injured | 1994 Mindoro earthquake | |
| 1999 December 12 | 02:03 | Central Luzon, Ilocos Norte, and Metro Manila | 7.3 | VIII | 6 dead, 40 injured | 1999 Luzon earthquake |
21st century
| Date | Time‡ | Region(s) | Magnitude | Intensity | Casualties | Notes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 January 1 | 14:57 | Davao Region | 7.5 | VII | Only minor damage to infrastructure was reported. | ||
| 2002 March 6 | 05:16 | Soccsksargen, Bangsamoro, and Davao Region | 7.5 | IX | 15 dead, 100+ injured | 2002 Mindanao earthquake | |
| 2003 November 19 | 01:14 | Eastern Visayas | 6.5 | VII | 1 dead, 21 injured | The epicenter is located in the province of Samar. | |
| 2010 July 24 | Bangsamoro, Soccsksargen | 7.3, 7.6, 7.5 | III | 2010 Mindanao earthquakes triplet earthquake, deep focus events | |||
| 2012 February 6 | 11:49 | Negros Island | 6.7 | VII | 113 dead, 112 injured | 2012 Negros earthquake | |
| 2012 August 31 | 20:47 | Eastern Visayas | 7.6 | VII | 1 dead, 1 injured | 2012 Samar earthquake | |
| 2013 October 15 | 08:12 | Central Visayas | 7.2 | IX | 222 dead, 976 injured | 2013 Bohol earthquake | |
| 2017 February 10 | 22:03 | Caraga | 6.5 | VIII | 8 dead, 200 injured | 2017 Surigao earthquake | |
| 2017 July 6 | 16:03 | Eastern Visayas, and Central Visayas | 6.5 | VIII | 4 dead, 100+ injured | 2017 Leyte earthquake | |
| 2019 April 22 | 17:11 | Central Luzon, Metro Manila, and Calabarzon | 6.1 | VII | 18 dead, 256 injured | 2019 Luzon earthquake | |
| 2019 April 23 | 13:37 | Eastern Visayas | 6.5 | VI | 48 injured | 2019 Eastern Samar earthquake | |
| 2019 July 9 | 20:36 | Soccsksargen, and Davao Region | 5.6 | VI | 1 dead, 73 injured | July 2019 Cotabato earthquake | |
| 2019 July 27 | 07:37 | Ilocos Region | 6.0 | VI | 9 dead, 60 injured | 2019 Batanes earthquake | |
| 2019 October 16 | 19:37 | Soccsksargen, Bangsamoro | 6.4 | VIII | 7 dead, 215 injured | 2019 Cotabato earthquakes | |
| 2019 October 29 | 09:04 | Soccsksargen, Davao Region, Bangsamoro, and Caraga | 6.6 | VIII | 24 dead, 563 injured | ||
| 2019 October 31 | 09:11 | Soccsksargen | 6.5 | VIII | |||
| 2019 December 15 | 14:11 | Davao Region, and Soccsksargen | 6.8 | VII | 13 dead, 210 injured | 2019 Davao del Sur earthquake | |
| 2020 August 18 | 08:03 | Bicol Region | 6.6 | VIII | 2 dead, 170 injured | 2020 Masbate earthquake | |
| 2021 August 12 | 01:46 | Davao Region | 7.1 | VII | 1 dead | 2021 Davao Oriental earthquake | |
| 2022 July 27 | 08:43 | Cordillera, Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, and Central Luzon | 7.0 | VIII | 11 dead, 615 injured | 2022 Luzon earthquake | |
| 2023 November 17 | 16:14 | Soccsksargen, and Davao Region | 6.7 | VIII | 11 dead, 730 injured | November 2023 Mindanao earthquake | |
| 2023 December 2 | 22:37 | Caraga, and Davao Region | 7.6 | VII | 3 dead, 79 injured | December 2023 Mindanao earthquake | |
| 2025 September 30 | 21:59 | Central Visayas, and Eastern Visayas | 6.9 | IX | 79 dead, 1,271 injured | 2025 Cebu earthquake | |
| 2025 October 10 | 09:43 | Davao Region, Caraga, Soccsksargen, and Northern Mindanao | 7.4 | VII | 10 dead, 1,027 injured | 2025 Davao Oriental earthquakes | |
| 2025 October 10 | 19:12 | Davao Region | 6.7 | VI |
Deadliest earthquakes
| Ten deadliest recorded earthquakes in the Philippines since the 1600s | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magnitude | Location | Date | Deaths | Missing | Injured | Damage | Source | ||
| 1 | 8.0 | Moro Gulf | August 16, 1976 | 4,791 | 2,288 | 9,928 | |||
| 2 | 7.8 | Luzon Island | July 16, 1990 | 1,621 | 1,000 | >3,000 | ₱ 10 billion | ||
| 3 | 6.4 | Manila | June 3, 1863 | 1,000 | |||||
| 4 | 7.5 | Luzon Island | November 30, 1645 | 600–3,000 | >3,000 | Unknown | |||
| 5 | 8.3 | Mati, Davao Oriental | April 14, 1924 | ~500 | |||||
| 6 | 7.4 | Lanao del Sur | April 1, 1955 | 465 | Unknown | US$5 million | |||
| 7 | 7.6 | Casiguran, Aurora | August 2, 1968 | 271 | 261 | ||||
| 8 | 7.2 | Bohol and Cebu | October 15, 2013 | 222 | 8 | 796 | ₱ 4 billion (est.) | ||
| 9 | 6.7 | Negros Oriental | February 6, 2012 | 113 | 112 | ₱ 383 million | |||
| 10 | 6.9 | Cebu | September 30, 2025 | 79 | 1271 | ₱ 16.2 billion | |||
Seismicity
Subduction zones
The subduction zones that surround most of the archipelago are the source of many of the larger earthquakes that strike the Philippines. This includes both faulting along the plate interfaces and within the subducting slabs. For the Philippine Trench, examples of those on the plate interface are the 1988 Mw 7.3 and the 2023 M7.6 events. The 1975 Mw 7.6 earthquake was caused by intra-slab normal faulting, while the 2012 M7.6 was a result of thrust faulting within the descending slab.
The relatively young Cotabato Trench subduction zone has been associated with several large megathrust earthquakes, including the 1918 Celebes Sea earthquake (M8.3), the 1976 Moro Gulf earthquake (M8.0) and the 2002 Mindanao earthquake (M7.5).
Strike-slip zones
The longest and most seismically active of the strike-slip structures is the 1200 km long Philippine Fault Zone. It carries the left lateral component of the oblique convergence at the Philippine Trench, with a current estimated slip-rate of 35 ± 4 mm per year on Leyte, reducing northwards to about 20 mm per year on Luzon. On Luzon, the fault zone splays out into a number of different faults, including the Digdig Fault. One of the largest historical earthquake on the fault zone was the 1990 Luzon Ms 7.8 event that left nearly 2,000 people dead or missing. The same part of the fault zone is thought to have ruptured in the 1645 Luzon earthquake. Further south the fault ruptured during the 1973 Ragay Gulf earthquake.
In central Mindanao, the Cotabato fault system consists of a mixture of NW-SE trending left lateral and SW-NE trending right lateral strike-slip faults. Four of these ruptured in the 2019 Cotabato and Davao del Sur earthquakes, each generating events with magnitudes of 6.4 or greater.
Seismic hazard
Given the presence of major fault zones throughout the archipelago, any part of the Philippines may be affected by earthquakes, apart from parts of Palawan, where the seismic hazard risk is comparatively low. The greatest shaking hazard comes from shallow crustal faulting close to the Manila, Davao and Cebu metropolitan areas. Active reverse faults have >20 km wide zones of peak ground acceleration (PGA) >0.6g (acceleration due to gravity) for a 10% probability of exceedance (PoE) in a 50-year period, while active strike-slip faults have narrower zones centered around the fault traces at a similar level. All areas close to active subduction zones show increased hazard.
In Metro Manila the estimated hazard has a mean PGA of 0.32 g for a PoE of 10% in 50 years. The main hazard comes from shallow fault sources, such as the Marikina Valley Fault System, but there is an important contribution to the overall hazard from the Manila subduction zone to the west and the potential for strong shaking from earthquakes originating the Philippines Trench to the east. In Metro Cebu, the mean PGA is also 0.32 g for the same PoE and period. The hazard is dominated by shallow crustal fault zones from this area of ongoing compressional tectonics. Using the same parameters Metro Davao has the higher value of 0.45 g. The metropolitan area sits close to shallow faults of left lateral strike-slip and oblique reverse type, and these generate the greatest hazard, although a significant contribution comes from sources in the Halmahera and Philippine subduction zones.
See also
- Subduction tectonics of the Philippines
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