On Thursday Afternoon a Significant M5.5 Earthquake struck in the Sulawesi Sea near General Santos (The Philippines).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on October 8th, 2026. Last updated November 2nd, 2026.

In the Sulawesi Sea 55 kilometer from General Santos, The Philippines, a significant Magnitude 5.5 earthquake occurred in the late afternoon of Thursday October 8th, 2026. Around 2.9 million people have been exposed to shaking.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Sulawesi Sea, right off the coast of The Philippines (8 mi offshore), 55 kilometer south of General Santos in Soccsksargen. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 58 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Oct 8, 2026 04:08PM (Manila Time) - Oct 8, 2026 08:08 Universal Time.
Location:	55 km south of General Santos, Soccsksargen, The Philippines. Coordinates 5°37'4"N 125°11'2"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.5 Detected by 21 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.068 .
Depth:	58 km (36 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	V Moderate 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 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 2.9 million people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 2.9 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.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is V, which corresponds with moderate shaking and very light damage. Roughly 646,500 people are expected to be exposed to this level. The majority of people (roughly 2.1 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 2.9 million people, with impact levels up to V (moderate shaking, very light damage). People were exposed to shaking in Indonesia as well.

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 23 kilometer (14 mi) south of the epicenter. The intensity of shaking and damage in Glan is estimated to be around level V on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (moderate shaking, very light damage).

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. General Santos is located 55 km to the north and experienced an intensity of V (moderate shaking, very light damage). Davao is located 169 km to the north (intensity unknown, possibly low). Budta is located 195 km to the northwest (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 14 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 14 people have reported shaking in 7 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: 7 people.
• Padada, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 2 people.
• Malbang, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 1 person.
• San Jose (General Santos City, South Cotabato), Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 1 person.
• Panabo, Southern Mindanao, Philippines: 1 person.
• Tulunan, Central Mindanao, Philippines: 1 person.
• Dapa, Caraga, Philippines: 1 person.

4 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 4 smaller aftershocks. At a distance of 52 km (32 mi) west of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 27 mins later. It measured a magnitude of 4.4

This main shock was prefaced by 2 smaller foreshocks. A 4.7 magnitude earthquake hit 15 hrs earlier nearby.

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.

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 August 5th, 2026, when a 5.6 magnitude earthquake hit 56 km (35 mi) further south. An even stronger magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck on June 7th, 2026.

In total, 109 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.5 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 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 02/11/26 02:38 (). 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 us6000u0x4
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20261008_0000110
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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