WThe Philippines lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, which causes the country to have frequent seismic and volcanic activity. Many earthquakes of smaller magnitude occur very regularly due to the meeting of major tectonic plates in the region. The largest was the 1918 Celebes Sea earthquake with Mw8.3.
WThe 1628 Camarines earthquake struck Camarines, in the Philippines in 1628. Fourteen different shocks were recorded. The date is unknown. The United States' National Geophysical Data Center describes the damage as "severe" and the total number of homes damaged as "many".
WThe 1645 Luzon earthquake was one of the most destructive earthquakes to hit the Philippines. It occurred on November 30 at about 08:00 PM local time on Luzon Island in the northern part of the country. The island was struck by a 7.5 Ms tremor produced by the San Manuel and Gabaldon Faults in the central section of the island.
WThe earthquakes of July 1880 in Luzon, the largest island of the Philippines, were one of the most destructive tremors on record in the history of the country. The shocks continued, with greater or less interruption, from the 14th to the 25th of the month, highlighted by three violent shaking events, which destroyed churches and other buildings, producing loss of life. Coinciding with the tectonic activity was an increase in volcanic activity in Taal Volcano in southwestern Luzon.
WThe 1897 Mindanao earthquakes occurred on 20 September at 19:06 UTC and 21 September at 05:12 UTC. The estimated epicentres of the two earthquakes are identical, lying just off the southwestern coast of Mindanao in the Philippines, south of Basilan island. The earthquakes were originally given estimated magnitudes of 8.6 and 8.7 on the surface wave magnitude scale by Charles Richter, but these were revised downwards by Katsuyuki Abe to 7.4 and 7.5 Ms, respectively. Contemporary reports noted that with few exceptions, all the masonry buildings in Zamboanga and Basilan were left in ruins.
WThe 1918 Celebes Sea earthquake occurred on 15 August at 12:18 UTC near the Moro Gulf coast of Mindanao. It had a magnitude of 8.3 on the moment magnitude scale and a maximum perceived intensity of X (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale.
WThe 1968 Casiguran earthquake occurred on 04:19:22 local time on August 2 with a moment magnitude of 7.6 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). The thrust earthquake's epicenter was in Casiguran, Quezon. A small non-destructive tsunami was generated and at least 207 people were killed. The majority of the deaths occurred in the collapse of a six-story building in Manila.
WThe 1983 Luzon earthquake struck the Philippines at 20:17 PST (UTC+08:00) on August 17. The shock had a surface wave magnitude of 6.5 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII, killing 16 people and injuring 47. Seven towns were damaged, several buildings collapsed, and electricity was cut off in Laoag. Features like sand volcanoes and cracks formed during the quake.
WThe 1990 Luzon earthquake struck the island of Luzon in the Philippines at 4:26 p.m. on July 16 (PDT). 3:26 p.m. (PST) with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.7 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent) and produced a 125 km-long ground rupture that stretched from Dingalan, Aurora to Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija. The event was a result of strike-slip movements along the Philippine Fault and the Digdig Fault within the Philippine Fault System. The earthquake's epicenter was near the town of Rizal, Nueva Ecija, northeast of Cabanatuan City. An estimated 1,621 people were killed, most of the fatalities located in Central Luzon and the Cordillera region.
WThe 1994 Mindoro earthquake occurred at 03:15:30 PST on November 15 near Mindoro, the Philippines. It had a moment magnitude of 7.1 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII. It is associated with a 35 kilometer-long ground rupture, called the Aglubang River fault. Seventy eight people were reported dead, and 7,566 houses were damaged. The earthquake generated a tsunami and landslides on the Verde Island.
WA Mw7.3 earthquake struck the northern coast of Zambales on December 12, 1999. The earthquake killed six people and injured 40 in Zambales, Pangasinan, and Metro Manila. The quake also caused power interruptions in the region.
WThe 2002 Mindanao earthquake struck the Philippines at 05:16 Philippine Standard Time on March 6. The world's sixth most powerful earthquake of the year, it registered a magnitude of 7.5 and was a megathrust earthquake. It originated near the Cotabato Trench, a zone of deformation situated between the Philippine Sea Plate and the Sunda Plate, and occurred very near to the Philippines' strongest earthquake for the 20th century, the 1918 Celebes Sea earthquake.
WThe 2010 Mindanao earthquakes occurred in the southern Philippines in the Moro Gulf. This was a complex sequence of events including three man events of Mw magnitude 7.3 or greater on the 23rd of July, and two significant aftershocks of magnitude 6.6 on the 24th and 29th. All of these were deep focus earthquakes, at depths from 565 km (351 mi) to 634 km (394 mi). This resulted in minimal, but very widespread shaking at the surface, with a maximum intensity of IV on the PEIS scale; consequently there were no reports of casualties or damage.
WAn earthquake off the coast of Samar occurred on August 31, 2012, at 20:47 local time in the Philippines. The populated islands of Visayas were struck by an earthquake of magnitude Mw 7.6. The earthquake has a depth of 45 km. A tsunami warning was announced within the Pacific area and was later lifted after two hours. The Philippine archipelago is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, where earthquakes and volcanic activity are common.
WThe 2012 Negros earthquake occurred on February 6 at 11:49 PST with a body wave magnitude of 6.7 and a maximum intensity of VII (Destructive) off the coast of Negros Oriental, Philippines. The epicenter of the Thrust fault earthquake was approximately 72 kilometres (45 mi) north of the provincial capital of Dumaguete City.
WThe 2013 Bohol earthquake occurred on October 15 at 8:12:31 PST in Bohol, an island province located in Central Visayas, Philippines. The magnitude of the earthquake was recorded at Mw 7.2, with epicenter 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) S 24° W of Sagbayan, and its depth of focus was 12 kilometres (7.5 mi). It affected the whole Central Visayas region, particularly Bohol and Cebu. The earthquake was felt in the whole Visayas area and as far as Masbate island in the north and Cotabato provinces in southern Mindanao.
WThe 2017 Batangas earthquakes were an earthquake swarm that occurred from early April to mid-August 2017, affecting the province of Batangas in the Philippines and other nearby areas.
WOn July 6, 2017, a 6.5 magnitude earthquake hit Leyte, causing at least 4 deaths and 100 injuries. The quake also caused power interruptions in the whole of Eastern Visayas and nearby Bohol.
WThe 2017 Surigao earthquake occurred on February 10, 2017 at 10:03 PM (PST), with a surface wave magnitude of 6.7 off the coast of Surigao del Norte in the Philippines. According to the PHIVOLCS Earthquake Intensity Scale the earthquake was an Intensity VII (Destructive) earthquake at maximum. In the past Surigao province has been hit by a magnitude 7.2 tremor in both 1879 and 1893.
WThe 2019 Batanes earthquake was a magnitude 5.9 magnitude earthquake which struck Batanes, Philippines on July 27, 2019. It was preceded by a 5.4 magnitude foreshock. Nine people were killed by the combined effects of the earthquakes.
WAt 14:11 PST on December 15, 2019, the province of Davao del Sur on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines was struck by an earthquake measuring 6.8 Mw. It had a maximum perceived intensity of VII on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale. At least 13 people were killed and another 210 injured.
WA 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck the islands of Visayas in the Philippines on April 23, 2019.
WOn April 22, 2019, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck the island of Luzon in the Philippines, leaving at least 18 dead, 3 missing and injuring at least 256 others. Despite the fact that the epicenter was in Zambales, most of the damage to infrastructure occurred in the neighboring province of Pampanga, which suffered damage to 29 buildings and structures.
WA 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck the island province of Masbate in the Philippines on August 18, 2020, leaving at least 2 dead and 170 injured.
WThe 2019 Cotabato earthquakes were an earthquake swarm which struck the province of Cotabato on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines in October 2019. Three of these earthquakes were above 6.0 on the moment magnitude scale with a Mercalli intensity of VIII. More than 40 people have been reported dead or missing and nearly 800 were injured as a result of these events.