list of earthquakes in the Philippines
{{Short description|None}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Use Philippine English|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox
| title = Earthquakes in the Philippines
| image = 250px
| caption = Tectonic map of the Philippines
| label1 = Largest
| data1 = {{M|w|8.3|link=y}} 1918 Celebes Sea earthquake
| label2 = Deadliest
| data2 = {{M|w|8.0}} 1976 Moro Gulf earthquake 5,000–8,000 killed
}}
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 {{M|w|8.3|link=y}}.
Tectonic setting
File:1900 2012 EQ Philippines.png
File:1500 1899 EQs Philippines.png
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, 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.{{cite journal|last1=Yumul|first1=G.P.|last2=Dim|first2=C.B.|last3=Maglambayan|first3=V.B.|last4=Marquez|first4=E.J.|title=Tectonic setting of a composite terrane: A review of the Philippine island arc system|journal=Geosciences Journal|year=2008|volume=12|issue=1|pages=7|doi=10.1007/s12303-008-0002-0|bibcode=2008GescJ..12....7Y|s2cid=140627389}} 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.{{cite journal|last1=Yumul|first1=G.P.|last2=Dimalanta|first2=C.B.|last3=Tamayo|first3=R.A.|title=Indenter-tectonics in the Philippines: Example from the Palawan Microcontinental Block – Philippine Mobile Belt Collision|journal=Resource Geology|year=2005|volume=55|issue=3|pages=189–198|doi=10.1111/j.1751-3928.2005.tb00240.x|doi-access=free|bibcode=2005ReGeo..55..189Y}}
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.
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 {{M|w}}7.3 and the 2023 M7.6 events. The 1975 {{m|w}}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.{{Cite journal|last1=Ye|first1=L.|last2=Lay|first2=T.|authorlink2=Thorne Lay|last3=Kanamori|first3=H.|authorlink3=Hiroo Kanamori|year=2012|title=Intraplate and interplate faulting interactions during the August 31, 2012, Philippine Trench earthquake (Mw 7.6) sequence|journal=Geophysical Research Letters|volume=39|issue=24|doi=10.1029/2012GL054164}}
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).{{Cite journal|last1=Stewart|first1=G.S.|last2=Cohn|first2=S.N.|year=1979|title=The 1976 August 16, Mindanao , Philippine earthquake (Ms = 7.8) – evidence for a subduction zone south of Mindanao|journal=Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society|volume=57|issue=1|pages=51–65|citeseerx=10.1.1.926.8672|doi=10.1111/j.1365-246X.1979.tb03771.x|doi-access=free|bibcode=1979GeoJ...57...51S}}{{Cite anss|Mindanao|2002|usp000azqw}}
=Strike-slip zones=
The longest and most seismically active of the strike-slip structures is the 1200 km long Philippine Fault Zone.{{Cite journal|last1=Besana|first1=G.M.|last2=Ando|first2=M.|year=2005|title=The central Philippine Fault Zone: Location of great earthquakes, slow events, and creep activity|url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/eps1998/57/10/57_10_987/_pdf/-char/ja|journal=Earth Planets Space|volume=57|issue=10|pages=987–994|doi=10.1186/BF03351877|doi-access=free|bibcode=2005EP&S...57..987B}} 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 {{M|s}} 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.{{Cite journal|last1=Beavan|first1=J.|last2=Silcock|first2=D.|last3=Hamburger|first3=M.|last4=Ramos|first4=E.|last5=Thibault|first5=C.|last6=Feir|first6=R.|year=2001|title=Geodetic constraints on postseismic deformation following the 1990 Ms7.8 Luzon earthquake and implications for Luzon tectonics and Philippine Sea plate motion|journal=Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems|volume=2|issue=9|doi=10.1029/2000GC000100}} 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.{{Cite journal|last1=Li|first1=B.|last2=Li|first2=Y.|last3=Jiang|first3=W.|last4=Su|first4=Z.|last5=Shen|first5=W.|year=2020|title=Conjugate ruptures and seismotectonic implications of the 2019 Mindanao earthquake sequence inferred from Sentinel-1 InSAR data|journal=International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation|volume=90|doi=10.1016/j.jag.2020.102127|doi-access=free|bibcode=2020IJAEO..9002127L}}
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.{{Cite journal|last1=Peñarubia|first1=H.C.|last2=Johnson|first2=K.L.|last3=Allen|first3=T.I.|year=2020|title=Probabilistic seismic hazard analysis model for the Philippines|journal=Earthquake Spectra|volume=36|issue=1|doi=10.1177/87552930199005|doi-broken-date=November 1, 2024}}
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.
Earthquakes
=Spanish period (pre-1900)=
File:Manila Cathedral belfry after the 1880 earthquake.jpg after the series of destructive earthquakes of July 1880.|150px]]
| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:90%;" |
| bgcolor="#ececec"
! class="unsortable" width=100px| Date ! class="unsortable" width=50px| Time‡ ! class="unsortable" width=110px| Place ! width="20px"|Magnitude ! width="20px"|Intensity ! class="unsortable"| Casualties ! class="unsortable"| Notes ! class="unsortable"| Sources |
| 1601 January 16
| 16:00 | Manila | align="center"| | align="center"| | align="center"| Several | Earthquake duration lasted about 7 minutes. Aftershocks experienced the whole year. | {{Cite web|title=Significant earthquakes: Philippines|url=https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazel/view/hazards/earthquake/event-data?country=PHILIPPINES|access-date=2023-12-18|publisher=National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}}{{Cite web|title=The Project Gutenberg eBook of Catalogue of Violent and Destructive Earthquakes in the Philippines, by Rev. Miguel Saderra Masó, S.J.|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/18556/18556-h/18556-h.htm|access-date=2022-07-29|via=Project Gutenberg}} |
| 1645 November 30
| 20:00 | Luzon | align="center"| 7.5 | align="center" data-sort-value="10"| X | align="center"| 600 dead, | 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 | Luzon | align="center"| | align="center" data-sort-value="8"| VIII | align="center"| | 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
| | Manila | align="center"| | align="center" data-sort-value="8"| VIII | align="center"| 19 | Only the Jesuit Church experienced great damage. |
| 1743 January 12
| 08:00 | Luzon: Tayabas, Laguna | align="center"| | align="center" data-sort-value="10"| X | align="center"| 5 deaths | |
| 1787 July 13
| 07:00 | Panay: Iloilo, Antique, Buenavista | align="center"| | align="center" data-sort-value="10"| X | align="center"| Many | 15 deaths in one building |
| 1840 March 22
| | Sorsogon, Masbate Island, Casiguran, Albay | align="center"| 6.5 | align="center" data-sort-value="9"| IX | align="center"| 17 | 200 injured |
| 1852 September 16
| 18:45 | Luzon: Batnam, Rizal, Pampangan, Manila | align="center"| | align="center" data-sort-value="9"| IX | align="center"| 3 | |
| 1863 June 3
| 19:20 | Manila, Balangan, Rizal | align="center"| | align="center" data-sort-value="10"| X | align="center"| 400 |
| 1879 July 1
| 00:50 | NW Mindanao, Surigao | align="center"| | align="center" data-sort-value="10"| X | align="center"| |
| 1880 July 14–24Maso, Saderra (1902). [https://books.google.com/books?id=SbPK_T9cljYC "Seismic and Volcanic Centers of the Philippine Archipelago"]. pg.16. Bureau of Printing, Manila.
| 04:40 | Luzon | align=center| | align=center data-sort-value="10"| X | align=center| | align=center|Caused severe damage to these major cities in Luzon: Manila (Buildings collapsed) |
| 1892 March 16
| 20:58 | Luzon: Abra, Pangasinan, La Union | align="center"| | align="center" data-sort-value="10"| X | align="center"| 2 | |
| 1897 September 21
| 13:15 | NW Mindanao, Dapitan | align="center"| 8.7 | align="center" data-sort-value="9"| IX | align="center"| 13–100+ (second event) | 1897 Mindanao earthquakes A pair of large earthquakes off Mindanao |
=20th century=
File:Lebak Tsunami.jpg after the 7.9 Moro Gulf Earthquake on August 16, 1976.]]
File:Hyatt Terraces Baguio - 16 July 1990 Earthquake.jpg in Baguio after the 1990 Luzon earthquake.]]
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| bgcolor="#ececec"
! class="unsortable" width=100px| Date ! class="unsortable" width=50px| Time‡ ! class="unsortable" width=110px| Place ! width="20px"|Magnitude ! width="20px"|Intensity ! class="unsortable"| Casualties ! class="unsortable"| Notes ! class="unsortable"| Sources |
| 1907 April 18
| 05:00 | SE Luzon, Camarines | align="center"| 7.6 | align="center" data-sort-value="9"| IX | align="center"| 2 dead | |
| 1911 July 12
| | Mindanao: Talacogon, Davao, Butuan | align="center"| 7.8 | align="center" data-sort-value="10"| X | align="center"| | Caused seiches in lakes and the Agusan River. Many homes damaged in Talacogon and Butuan |
| 1918 August 15
| 20:18 | Cotabato | align="center"| 8.3 | align="center" data-sort-value="10"| X | align="center"| 46 dead |
| 1924 April 15
| 00:20 | E. Mindanao | align="center"| 8.3 | align="center" data-sort-value="9"| IX | align="center"| | |
| 1925 May 5
| 18:07 | W. Luzon | align="center"| 6.8 | align="center" data-sort-value="9"| IX | align="center"| 17 dead | |
| 1928 December 19
| 19:37 | Cotabato | align="center"| 7.3 | align="center" data-sort-value="7"| VII | align="center"| 93 dead | |
| 1937 August 20
| | Luzon | align="center"| 7.5 | align="center" data-sort-value="8"| VIII | align="center"| 1 dead, 200 injured | |
| 1948 January 25
| 01:46 | Panay, Iloilo City, Antique | align="center"| 7.8 | align="center" data-sort-value="10"| X | align="center"| 72 dead |
| 1954 July 2
| 10:45 | Sorsogon, Bacon, Legaspi | align="center"| 6.8 | align="center" data-sort-value="9"| IX | align="center"| 13 dead, 101 injured | |
| 1955 April 1
| 02:17 | Lanao, Ozamiz, Cotabato | align="center"| 7.6 | align="center" data-sort-value="8"| VIII | align="center"| 400 dead | {{Cite web|date=12 April 2017|title=A Primer on the 12 April 2017 Magnitude 6.0 Lanao del Sur Earthquake (relative to the 1955 Lanao quake)|url=https://www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph/index.php/news/629-a-primer-on-the-12-april-2017-magnitude-6-0-lanao-del-sur-earthquake|access-date=22 May 2022|publisher=Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology}} |
| 1968 August 2
| 04:19 | Luzon, Manila | align="center"| 7.3 | align="center" data-sort-value="9"| IX | align="center"| 270 dead, 261 injured | {{cite web|title=Destructive Earthquakes in the Philippines|url=https://www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph/index.php/earthquake/destructive-earthquake-of-the-philippines|publisher=Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology|access-date=October 17, 2021}} |
| 1970 April 7
| 13:34 | Luzon | align="center"| 7.3 | align="center" data-sort-value="6"| VI | align="center"| 15 dead, 200 injured | |
| 1973 March 17
| 16:30 | Ragay Gulf | align="center"| 7.5 | align="center" data-sort-value="9"| IX | align="center"| 15 dead, ~100 injured | {{cite web|title=Today in Earthquake History|url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/today/index.php?month=3&day=17|access-date=2021-08-31|publisher=United States Geological Survey}} |
| 1976 August 17
| 00:11 | Moro Gulf | align="center"| 8.0 | align="center" data-sort-value="8"| VIII | align="center"| 8,000 dead, 10,000 injured |
| 1983 August 17
| 20:17 | Luzon | align="center"| 6.5 | align="center" data-sort-value="8"| VIII | align="center"| 16 dead, 47 injured |
| 1985 April 24
| | Luzon: Benguet, Baguio | align="center"| 6.1 | align="center" data-sort-value="7"| VII | align="center"| 6 dead, 11 injured | |
| 1988 June 19
| 04:19 | Mindoro: San Jose, Calapan | align="center"| 6.2 | align="center" data-sort-value="7"| VII | align="center"| 2 dead, 2 injured | {{Cite web|title=Further Information on the 1988 Mindoro earthquake|url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usp0003h43/impact?fbclid=IwAR2b7MeVoOSOgXVA5N3WngLAWmLdnQixcc1PqjGuUkYgVld-fRCFuzgYBy0|url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-08|publisher=United States Geological Survey|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908115523/https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usp0003h43/impact?fbclid=IwAR2b7MeVoOSOgXVA5N3WngLAWmLdnQixcc1PqjGuUkYgVld-fRCFuzgYBy0|archive-date=2021-09-08}} |
| 1990 February 8
| 15:15 | Bohol | align="center"| 6.8 | align="center" data-sort-value="7"| VII | align="center"| 6 dead, >200 injured |
| 1990 June 14
| 15:41 | Panay | align="center"| 7.1 | align="center" data-sort-value="8"| VIII | align="center"| 8 dead, 41 injured |
| 1990 July 16
| 16:26 | Luzon | align="center"| 7.8 | align="center" data-sort-value="9"| IX | align="center"| 2,412 dead, 3,000 injured |
| 1994 November 14
| 03:15 | Mindoro | align="center"| 7.1 | align="center" data-sort-value="7"| VII | align="center"| 81 dead, 225 injured |
| 1999 December 12
| 02:03 | Zambales | align="center"| 7.3 | align="center" data-sort-value="8"| VIII | align="center"| 6 dead, 40 injured | {{Cite web|title=Philippines – Earthquake OCHA Situation Report No. 2 – Philippines|url=https://reliefweb.int/report/philippines/philippines-earthquake-ocha-situation-report-no-2|access-date=2021-10-01|publisher=ReliefWeb|date=December 13, 1999|language=en}} |
=21st century=
File:Santa Cruz Parish Church, Maribojoc, Bohol (Before and After 2013 Bohol Earthquake).jpg
Deadliest earthquakes
See also
{{Portal|Earth sciences}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Earthquakes in the Philippines}}
- [http://www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph Official website of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100129060134/http://www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph/ |date=January 29, 2010 }}
- [http://www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph/html/update_SOEPD/EQLatest.html Latest Earthquake Bulletin in the Philippines]
- [http://www.ndrrmc.gov.ph Official website of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council]
{{Earthquakes in the Philippines}}
{{Asia topic|List of earthquakes in}}
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