Shallow M5.0 FORESHOCK struck on Saturday Morning in the Sulawesi Sea near General Santos (The Philippines).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on July 4th, 2026. Last updated July 26th, 2026.

A shallow and significant MAG-5.0 foreshock struck in the Sulawesi Sea 73 kilometer from General Santos, The Philippines in the morning of Saturday July 4th, 2026.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Sulawesi Sea, right off the coast of The Philippines (7 mi offshore), 73 kilometer south of General Santos 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:	Jul 4, 2026 10:21AM (Manila Time) - Jul 4, 2026 02:21 Universal Time.
Location:	73 km south of General Santos, Soccsksargen, The Philippines. Coordinates 5°27'51"N 125°17'12"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.0 Detected by 62 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.072 .
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 Glan in Soccsksargen, The Philippines. Glan is located 41 kilometer (25 mi) south of the epicenter.

Major cities near this earthquake: General Santos is located 73 km to the north. Davao is located 183 km to the north. Budta is located 215 km to the northwest.

A complete list of nearby places is included below.

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 3 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:

• Katangawan, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 1 person.
• Padada, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 1 person.
• Buayan, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 1 person.

This is likely a foreshock

This earthquake was followed by a stronger MAG-5.8 earthquake, classifying this earthquake as a foreshock.

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 June 29th, 2026, when a 5.2 magnitude earthquake hit 98 km (61 mi) further south. An even stronger magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck on June 7th, 2026.

In total, 402 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5 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 9 days.

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 26/07/26 00:58 (). 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 us6000ta14
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260704_0000030
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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