Strong M6.8 Earthquake hit in the Philippine Sea near Bislig (The Philippines) on Saturday Morning.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on August 2nd, 2024. Last updated September 16th, 2024.

A strong MAG-6.8 earthquake struck in the Philippine Sea 33 kilometer from Bislig, The Philippines in the early morning of Saturday August 3rd, 2024. The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Philippine Sea, right off the coast of The Philippines (11 mi offshore), 33 kilometer east of Bislig in Caraga. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 35 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Aug 3, 2024 06:23AM (Manila Time) - Aug 2, 2024 22:23 Universal Time.
Location:	33 km east of Bislig, Caraga, The Philippines. Coordinates 8°10'52"N 126°36'55"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.8 Detected by 14 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.048 .
Depth:	35 km (22 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VII Very Strong 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

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 96% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 74% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 97% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Roughly 13 million people exposed to shaking

An estimated 13 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.

An estimated 168,500 people were exposed to level VII. At this level, very strong shaking and likely moderate damage can be expected. Intensity level IV was experienced by the majority of people (around 9 million). In their region, light shaking and likely no damage can be expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of The Philippines .

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in The Philippines . Located 33 kilometer (21 mi) east of the epicenter of this earthquake, Bislig (Caraga, The Philippines) is the nearest significant population center. The intensity of shaking and damage in Bislig is estimated to be around level VII on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (very strong shaking, likely moderate damage).

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Davao is located 166 km to the southwest and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Budta is located 263 km to the west-southwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Malingao is located 262 km to the west-southwest (intensity unknown, possibly low).

The table below provides an overview of all places in proximity of today's earthquake. Where available, the estimated intensity on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale in each place is included. Places where this information is omitted likely experienced little impact.

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is VII.

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 95 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 95 people have reported shaking in 49 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: 14 people.
• Butuan, Caraga, Philippines: 7 people.
• Purok, Caraga, Philippines: 7 people.
• Bislig, Caraga, Philippines: 5 people.
• Barra, Northern Mindanao, Philippines: 4 people.
• Canocotan, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 3 people.
• Igpit, Northern Mindanao, Philippines: 3 people.
• Tagum, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 2 people.
• San Isidro (San Francisco, Agusan del Sur), Caraga, Philippines: 2 people.
• Mayo, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 2 people.

128 Aftershocks detected

Since this main shock, 128 smaller aftershocks were detected. Just 6 hrs after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-6.3 was detected 21 km (13 mi) east of this earthquake.

Before this earthquake struck, 9 smaller foreshocks occurred. Roughly 23 hrs before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-4.7 was detected nearby this earthquake.

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.

The chance that a significant earthquake like this one is followed by an even larger earthquake is not so large. On average, scientists estimate a 94% chance that a major earthquake will not be followed by an even larger one. It is still adviced to be aware of this risk

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 December 3rd, 2023, when a 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit 88 km (55 mi) further north. An even stronger magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck on December 2nd, 2023.

In total, 5 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.8 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 16/09/24 04:18 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000nhqc
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20240802_0000245
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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