Strong M6.7 Earthquake hit in the Sulawesi Sea near General Santos (The Philippines) on Friday Afternoon.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on November 17th, 2023. Last updated December 3rd, 2023.

In the late afternoon of Friday November 17th, 2023, a strong MAG-6.7 earthquake hit in the Sulawesi Sea 61 kilometer from General Santos, The Philippines. The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake. Indonesia is also near its epicenter.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Sulawesi Sea, 28 kilometers (17 mi) off the coast of The Philippines, 61 kilometer south-southwest of General Santos in Soccsksargen. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 64 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Nov 17, 2023 04:14PM (Manila Time) - Nov 17, 2023 08:14 Universal Time.
Location:	61 km SSW of General Santos, Soccsksargen, The Philippines. Coordinates 5°34'60"N 125°1'18"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.7 Detected by 4 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.038 .
Depth:	64 km (40 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	IX Violent On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Potential tsunami risk The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Potential tsunami risk

There is a potential tsunami risk in the aftermath of this earthquake, immediately evacuate to higher grounds away from coastal areas and monitor advice from local authorities. The US Geographic Survey organization has indicated a potential risk for tsunami's following this earthquake.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Significant impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level YELLOW (significant). They expect an 38% likelyhood of between 10 and 100 fatalities, and a 99% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 1,000.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level YELLOW (significant). They expect an 39% likelyhood of between 10 and 100 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 94% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls between 1 and 10,000 million USD.

Roughly 12 million people exposed to shaking

An estimated 12 million have been exposed to shaking (An MMI or Modified Mercalli Intensity level II or higher) as a result of this earthquake according scientific estimates published by the USGS.

Severe shaking and likely moderate to heavy damage may have been experienced by an estimated 164,700 people. At VIII, it is the highest MMI level this earthquake has caused. Intensity level IV was experienced by the majority of people (around 6.6 million). In their region, light shaking and likely no damage can be expected.

People in 2 countries have been exposed to shaking. In The Philippines , around 12 million people, with impact levels up to VIII (severe shaking, likely moderate to heavy damage). People were exposed to shaking in Indonesia as well.

Nearby towns and cities

The Philippines and Indonesia are both located within 300km distance of the epicenter of the earthquake.

The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Glan in Soccsksargen, The Philippines. Glan is located 33 kilometer (21 mi) southwest of the epicenter. The intensity of shaking and damage in Glan is estimated to be around level VIII on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (severe shaking, likely moderate to heavy damage).

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. General Santos is located 61 km to the north-northeast and experienced an intensity of VII (very strong shaking, likely moderate damage). Davao is located 178 km to the north-northeast and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Budta is located 191 km to the north-northwest and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage).

A complete list of nearby places is included below. Estimated intensity data (MMI) sourced from a shake-map published by the US Geographic Survey is shown where available (cities without data probably experienced little impact).

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The graph below overlays a map of the region around the epicenter with earthquake intensity data provided by the US Geographic Survey. The highest intensity level detected for this earthquake is VIII.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Shaking reported by 62 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 62 people have reported shaking in 36 places, all within Philippines.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Davao, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 10 people.
• Buayan, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 7 people.
• Zamboanga, Western Mindanao, Philippines: 4 people.
• Koronadal, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 4 people.
• Cagayan, Northern Mindanao, Philippines: 3 people.
• Ula, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 2 people.
• Katangawan, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 2 people.
• Butuan, Caraga, Philippines: 2 people.
• Claveria, Northern Mindanao, Philippines: 1 person.
• Panabo, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 1 person.

11 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 11 smaller aftershocks occurred. At a distance of 14 km (9 mi) east-northeast of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 1 day later. It measured a magnitude of 4.5

Before this earthquake struck, 1 smaller foreshock occurred. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 3 days earlier. It measured a magnitude of 4.4

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.

It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.

Earthquakes like this are common in the region

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since August 11th, 2021, when a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit 212 km (132 mi) further east-northeast. An even stronger magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck on January 10th, 2017.

In total, 6 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.7 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 2 years.

Sources

Last updated 03/12/23 00:58 (). This article contains currently available information about the earthquake and is automatically composed. We continue to update this article up to a few days after the earthquake occurred.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000lp12
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20231117_0000078
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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