On Wednesday Evening a Shallow M5.7 Earthquake struck in the Philippine Sea 263km from Davao (The Philippines).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on March 12th, 2025. Last updated March 14th, 2025.

A shallow and significant Magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck in the Philippine Sea 263 kilometer from Davao, The Philippines in the evening of Wednesday March 12th, 2025. Around 3.2 million people have been exposed to shaking.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Philippine Sea, 127 kilometers (79 mi) off the coast of The Philippines, 263 kilometer north-east of Davao. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Mar 12, 2025 11:09PM (Manila Time) - Mar 12, 2025 15:09 Universal Time.
Location:	263 km NE of Davao, The Philippines. Coordinates 8°22'51"N 127°35'49"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.7 Detected by 31 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.056 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	IV Light On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

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 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Roughly 3.2 million people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 3.2 million people. That is the expected population size of the area exposed to a level of shaking of II or higher on the Modified Mercalli scale according to the USGS.

Light shaking and likely no damage may have been experienced by an estimated 54,360 people. At IV, it is the highest MMI level this earthquake has caused. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 3.1 million). In their region, weak shaking and probably 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 . Bislig in Caraga, The Philippines is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 142 kilometer (88 mi) east of Bislig. The intensity of shaking and damage in Bislig is estimated to be around level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (light shaking, likely no damage).

Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Davao is located 263 km to the southwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Butuan is located 234 km to the west-northwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Libertad is located 239 km to the west-northwest (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 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 IV.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

5 Aftershocks detected

Since this main shock, 5 smaller aftershocks were detected. A 4.2 magnitude earthquake hit 5 hrs later 25 km (15 mi) west-southwest of 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.

In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major earthquake.

Earthquakes like this happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since August 3rd, 2024, when a 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit 86 km (53 mi) further west-southwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck on December 2nd, 2023.

In total, 35 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.7 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 3 months.

Low tsunami risk

Based on early data it appears this earthquake was not strong enough (lower than MAG-6.5) to be likely to cause destructive tsunami's. However this earthquake appeared to have hit at a shallow depth under sea, so stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Sources

Last updated 14/03/25 05:38 (). 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 us6000pybu
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250312_0000171
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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