On Wednesday Morning a Shallow M6.4 Earthquake struck in the Philippine Sea near Mati (The Philippines).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on January 7th, 2026. Last updated February 16th, 2026.

In the Philippine Sea 84 kilometer from Mati, The Philippines, a shallow and strong Magnitude 6.4 earthquake occurred in the morning of Wednesday January 7th, 2026. 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, 31 kilometers (19 mi) off the coast of The Philippines, 84 kilometer east-northeast of Mati in Davao. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 22 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Jan 7, 2026 11:02AM (Manila Time) - Jan 7, 2026 03:02 Universal Time.
Location:	84 km ENE of Mati, Davao, The Philippines. Coordinates 7°21'45"N 126°51'31"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.4 Detected by 23 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.047 .
Depth:	22 km (14 mi) A very 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

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

One buildings damaged at Caraga.

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 12 million people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 12 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is VI, which corresponds with strong shaking and probably light damage. Roughly 78,280 people are expected to be exposed to this level. 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 . Manay in Davao, The Philippines is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 39 kilometer (24 mi) east-northeast of Manay. Manay experienced an earthquake intensity (MMI Scale) of roughly VI. That level implies strong shaking and probably light damage.

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Davao is located 141 km to the west-southwest and experienced an intensity of V (moderate shaking, very light damage). Budta is located 267 km to the west (intensity unknown, possibly low). Malingao is located 264 km to the west (intensity unknown, possibly low).

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

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 34 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 34 people have reported shaking in 24 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: 8 people.
• Buayan, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 4 people.
• Tagum, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 1 person.
• Koronadal, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 1 person.
• Baliwagan, Northern Mindanao, Philippines: 1 person.
• General Luna, Southern Tagalog, Philippines: 1 person.
• Tulunan, Central Mindanao, Philippines: 1 person.
• Kidapawan, Central Mindanao, Philippines: 1 person.
• Alegria (San Francisco, Agusan del Sur), Caraga, Philippines: 1 person.
• Balogo, Central Mindanao, Philippines: 1 person.

43 Aftershocks detected

Since this main shock, 43 smaller aftershocks were detected. Just 1 hr after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-5.4 was detected 17 km (11 mi) south-southeast of this earthquake.

Before this earthquake struck, 3 smaller foreshocks occurred. Roughly 9 hrs before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-4.4 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.

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 10th, 2025, when a 6.7 magnitude earthquake hit 28 km (17 mi) further southwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck on December 2nd, 2023.

In total, 18 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.4 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 7 months.

Sources

Last updated 16/02/26 03:08 (). As more information on this earthquake becomes available this article will be updated. This article is automatically composed based on data originating from multiple sources.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000rn2z
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260107_0000053
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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