Shallow M5.1 Earthquake hit in the Sulawesi Sea 115km from Malingao (The Philippines) on Wednesday Afternoon.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on January 28th, 2026. Last updated February 18th, 2026.

A shallow and significant Magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck in the Sulawesi Sea 115 kilometer from Malingao, The Philippines in the afternoon of Wednesday January 28th, 2026.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Sulawesi Sea, 31 kilometers (19 mi) off the coast of The Philippines, 115 kilometer southwest of Malingao in Soccsksargen. 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:	Jan 28, 2026 02:31PM (Manila Time) - Jan 28, 2026 06:31 Universal Time.
Location:	115 km SW of Malingao, Soccsksargen, The Philippines. Coordinates 6°23'37"N 123°46'13"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.1 Detected by 73 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.066 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth.
Tsunami Risk:	Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in The Philippines . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Laguilayan in Soccsksargen, The Philippines. Laguilayan is located 89 kilometer (55 mi) west-southwest of the epicenter.

Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Budta is located 117 km to the north-east. Malingao is located 115 km to the north-east. Davao is located 217 km to the east-northeast.

The table below provides an overview of all places in proximity of today's earthquake.

Overview of nearby places

Shaking reported by 3 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 3 people have reported shaking in 2 places in 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:

• Buayan, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 2 people.
• Kalawag, Central Mindanao, Philippines: 1 person.

65 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 65 smaller aftershocks. Just 2 hrs after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-5.6 was detected 19 km (12 mi) west-northwest of this earthquake.

In the days before this main shock, 41 smaller foreshocks were detected. A 5.4 magnitude earthquake hit 5 hrs earlier nearby.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Earthquakes can create aftershocks. These are generally at least 1 magnitude lower than any main shock, and as time passes the chance and strength of aftershocks decreases.

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 January 28th, 2026, when a 5.4 magnitude earthquake hit 16 km (10 mi) further north-northeast. An even stronger magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck on January 10th, 2017.

In total, 94 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.1 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 month.

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 18/02/26 00:38 (). 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 us6000s4xy
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260128_0000103
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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