On Tuesday Evening a Strong M6.2 Earthquake struck in the Sulawesi Sea near General Santos (The Philippines).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on July 14th, 2026. Last updated August 5th, 2026.

A strong Magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck in the Sulawesi Sea 88 kilometer from General Santos, The Philippines just before midnight of Tuesday July 14th, 2026. Around 8 million people have been exposed to shaking.

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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, 88 kilometer south of General Santos in Soccsksargen. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 46 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Jul 14, 2026 11:49PM (Manila Time) - Jul 14, 2026 15:49 Universal Time.
Location:	88 km south of General Santos, Soccsksargen, The Philippines. Coordinates 5°19'21"N 125°10'48"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.2 Detected by 55 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.042 .
Depth:	46 km (29 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VII Very 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

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

Several homes destroyed, 1 building and power lines damaged, landslides reported in the Jose Abad Santos area.

Based on scientific estimates by the USGS, the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 90% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 90% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact.

Roughly 8 million people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 8 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 104,600 people. At VI, it is the highest MMI level this earthquake has caused. The majority of people (roughly 6.4 million) live in an area exposed to level IV, where light shaking and likely no damage is expected.

People in 2 countries have been exposed to shaking. In The Philippines , around 8 million people, with impact levels up to VI (strong shaking, probably light damage). In Indonesia, shaking was experienced too.

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in The Philippines . Glan in Soccsksargen, The Philippines is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 56 kilometer (35 mi) south of Glan. The intensity of shaking and damage in Glan is estimated to be around level VI on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (strong shaking, probably light damage).

Major cities near this earthquake: General Santos is located 88 km to the north and experienced an intensity of V (moderate shaking, very light damage). Davao is located 200 km to the north and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Budta is located 225 km to the north (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 graph below overlays a map of the region around the epicenter with earthquake intensity data provided by the US Geographic Survey. The highest intensity level detected 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 84 people in 2 countries

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 84 people have reported shaking in 25 places in 2 countries (Philippines, Indonesia).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: 13 people.
• Katangawan, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 8 people.
• Davao, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 7 people.
• Maasim, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 7 people.
• Kiamba, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 6 people.
• Koronadal, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 6 people.
• Tinoto, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 4 people.
• Padada, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 3 people.
• Malapatan, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 3 people.
• Digos, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 3 people.

21 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 21 smaller aftershocks. Just 2 days after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-4.7 was detected 47 km (29 mi) south of this earthquake.

This main shock was prefaced by 29 smaller foreshocks. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 3 hrs earlier. It measured a magnitude of 5.2

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 26th, 2026, when a 6.5 magnitude earthquake hit 13 km (8 mi) further west. An even stronger magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck on June 7th, 2026.

In total, 23 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.2 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 05/08/26 18:48 (). 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 us7000t0d0
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260714_0000262
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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