On Wednesday Afternoon a Shallow M5.9 Earthquake struck in the Sulawesi Sea 112km from Malingao (The Philippines).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on January 28th, 2026. Last updated January 29th, 2026.

In the afternoon of Wednesday January 28th, 2026, a shallow and significant MAG-5.9 earthquake hit in the Sulawesi Sea 112 kilometer from Malingao, The Philippines. Around 17 million people have been exposed to shaking.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Sulawesi Sea, 29 kilometers (18 mi) off the coast of The Philippines, 112 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 02:47PM (Manila Time) - Jan 28, 2026 06:47 Universal Time.
Location:	112 km SW of Malingao, Soccsksargen, The Philippines. Coordinates 6°25'13"N 123°46'56"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.9 Detected by 22 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.066 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VI Strong 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 17 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 17 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is V, which corresponds with moderate shaking and very light damage. Roughly 97,290 people are expected to be exposed to this level. The majority of people (roughly 12 million) live in an area exposed to level III, where weak shaking and probably no damage is expected.

People in 2 countries have been exposed to shaking. Roughly 17 million people were exposed to shaking in The Philippines , with level V (moderate shaking, very light damage) as the highest recorded. Shaking was experienced by inhabitants of Indonesia too.

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in The Philippines . Laguilayan in Soccsksargen, The Philippines is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 87 kilometer (54 mi) west-southwest of Laguilayan. The intensity of shaking and damage in Laguilayan is estimated to be around level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (light shaking, likely no damage).

Major cities near this earthquake: Budta is located 113 km to the north-east and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Malingao is located 112 km to the north-east and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Davao is located 215 km to the east-northeast (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 intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is V.

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 16 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 16 people have reported shaking in 11 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:

• Buayan, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 4 people.
• San Jose (General Santos City, South Cotabato), Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 3 people.
• Dansuli, Central Mindanao, Philippines: 1 person.
• Tulunan, Central Mindanao, Philippines: 1 person.
• Conel, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 1 person.
• Banga, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 1 person.
• Maasim, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 1 person.
• Katangawan, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 1 person.
• Midsayap, Central Mindanao, Philippines: 1 person.
• Polanco, Western Mindanao, Philippines: 1 person.

55 Aftershocks detected

Since this main shock, 55 smaller aftershocks were detected. At a distance of 20 km (12 mi) north-northwest of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 2 hrs later. It measured a magnitude of 5.6

This main shock was prefaced by 37 smaller foreshocks. Roughly 5 hrs before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-5.3 was detected nearby this earthquake.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Aftershocks are usually at least 1 order of magnitude less strong than main shocks. The more time passes, the smaller the chance and likely strength of any potential aftershocks.

It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this 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 June 27th, 2025, when a 6 magnitude earthquake hit 280 km (174 mi) further east-southeast. An even stronger magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck on January 10th, 2017.

In total, 26 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.9 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.

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 29/01/26 09:38 (). 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 us6000s4xz
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260128_0000106
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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