On Friday Morning a Strong M6.0 Earthquake struck near Surigao in The Philippines.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on October 16th, 2025. Last updated December 4th, 2025.

In the morning of Friday October 17th, 2025, a strong M6.0 earthquake hit under land 68 kilometer from Surigao in The Philippines. Shaking may have been felt by a total of 10 million people.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in The Philippines, 68 kilometer (42 mi) east of Surigao in Caraga. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 32 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Oct 17, 2025 07:03AM (Manila Time) - Oct 16, 2025 23:03 Universal Time.
Location:	68 km east of Surigao, Caraga, The Philippines. Coordinates 9°47'27"N 126°6'59"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.0 Detected by 49 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.044 .
Depth:	32 km (20 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VII Very Strong On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake in a coastal area, it appears to have occurred under land (3 km from the sea) with a magnitude that is usually not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Minimal impact predicted

The US Geographic Survey (USGS) describes the impact of this earthquake as follows:

At least 1 home and 2 buildings were damaged in San Benito and 1 building was damaged at Socorro, on Siargao Island.

Based on scientific estimates by the 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 10 million people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 10 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.

Strong shaking and probably light damage may have been experienced by an estimated 85,800 people. At VI, it is the highest MMI level this earthquake has caused. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 6 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 . Located 68 kilometer (42 mi) east of the epicenter of this earthquake, Surigao (Caraga, The Philippines) is the nearest significant population center. The intensity of shaking and damage in Surigao is estimated to be around level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (light shaking, likely no damage).

Major cities near this earthquake: Davao is located 307 km to the south (intensity unknown, possibly low). Budta is located 342 km to the south-southwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Malingao is located 344 km to the south-southwest (intensity unknown, possibly low).

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below. If places don't have intensity data available, it likely means the experienced impact in those places was fairly small.

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The maximum intensity (MMI Scale) caused by this earthquake is VI. The map below shows in which areas this earthquake was the most and least impactful. It is based on data from the US Geographic Survey.

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 25 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 25 people have reported shaking in 16 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:

• Purok, Caraga, Philippines: 5 people.
• Butuan, Caraga, Philippines: 3 people.
• Luna, Caraga, Philippines: 2 people.
• Canocotan, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 2 people.
• Mandawa, Central Visayas, Philippines: 2 people.
• Tago, Caraga, Philippines: 1 person.
• Calero, Central Visayas, Philippines: 1 person.
• Nabunturan, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 1 person.
• Brasilisa, Caraga, Philippines: 1 person.
• Davao, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 1 person.

21 Aftershocks detected

Since this main shock, 21 smaller aftershocks were detected. Just 54 mins after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-4.8 was detected 9 km (6 mi) south-east of this earthquake.

This main shock was prefaced by 2 smaller foreshocks. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 2 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.

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 October 11th, 2025, when a 6 magnitude earthquake hit 98 km (61 mi) further south. An even stronger magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck on December 2nd, 2023.

In total, 23 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6 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 5 months.

Tsunami very unlikely

While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit under land. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk of a tsunami even less likely. However always stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Sources

Last updated 04/12/25 04:38 (). 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 us6000rhns
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20251016_0000346
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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