On Thursday Afternoon a Shallow M5.4 AFTERSHOCK struck in the Philippine Sea 253km from Davao (The Philippines).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on October 29th, 2026.

A shallow and significant MAG-5.4 aftershock struck in the Philippine Sea 253 kilometer from Davao, The Philippines in the afternoon of Thursday October 29th, 2026. Roughly 40 thousand people may have felt this earthquake.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Philippine Sea, 110 kilometers (68 mi) off the coast of The Philippines, 253 kilometer north-east of Davao. 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:	Oct 29, 2026 03:31PM (Manila Time) - Oct 29, 2026 07:31 Universal Time.
Location:	253 km NE of Davao, The Philippines. Coordinates 8°28'4"N 127°25'37"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.4 Detected by 15 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.08 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	IV Light 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 40 thousand people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 40 thousand have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is III, which corresponds with weak shaking and probably no damage. Roughly 36,440 people are expected to be exposed to this level. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of The Philippines .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
0	II	Very weak	None
36,440	III	Weak	Probably none
0	IV	Light	Likely none
0	V	Moderate	Very light
0	VI	Strong	Light
0	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in The Philippines . Located 125 kilometer (78 mi) east of the epicenter of this earthquake, Bislig (Caraga, The Philippines) is the nearest significant population center.

Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Davao is located 253 km to the southwest. Butuan is located 214 km to the west. Libertad is located 218 km to the west.

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below.

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place
125 km (78 mi) W from epicenter	Bislig Caraga, The Philippines.
151 km (94 mi) NW from epicenter	Tandag Caraga, The Philippines.
157 km (98 mi) W from epicenter	Trento Caraga, The Philippines.
161 km (100 mi) W from epicenter	Bunawan Caraga, The Philippines.
163 km (101 mi) W from epicenter	San Francisco Caraga, The Philippines.
167 km (104 mi) W from epicenter	Bah-Bah Caraga, The Philippines.
168 km (104 mi) W from epicenter	Veruela Caraga, The Philippines.
168 km (104 mi) SW from epicenter	Monkayo Davao, The Philippines.
170 km (106 mi) SW from epicenter	Manay Davao, The Philippines.
172 km (107 mi) SW from epicenter	Compostela Davao, The Philippines.
181 km (112 mi) W from epicenter	Talacogon Caraga, The Philippines.
185 km (115 mi) W from epicenter	Bayugan Caraga, The Philippines.
187 km (116 mi) SW from epicenter	Nabunturan Davao, The Philippines.
190 km (118 mi) SW from epicenter	San Mariano Davao, The Philippines.
202 km (126 mi) SW from epicenter	New Corella Davao, The Philippines.
212 km (132 mi) SW from epicenter	Magugpo Poblacion Davao, The Philippines.
214 km (133 mi) W from epicenter	Butuan Caraga, The Philippines.
215 km (134 mi) SW from epicenter	Mati Davao, The Philippines.
218 km (135 mi) W from epicenter	Libertad Caraga, The Philippines.
220 km (137 mi) W from epicenter	Cabadbaran Caraga, The Philippines.
221 km (137 mi) SW from epicenter	Cabayangan Davao, The Philippines.
229 km (142 mi) W from epicenter	Buenavista Caraga, The Philippines.
231 km (144 mi) SW from epicenter	Panabo Davao, The Philippines.
234 km (145 mi) SW from epicenter	Lupon Davao, The Philippines.
245 km (152 mi) SW from epicenter	Samal Davao, The Philippines.
253 km (157 mi) SW from epicenter	Davao Davao, The Philippines.
255 km (158 mi) W from epicenter	Malaybalay Northern Mindanao, The Philippines.
257 km (160 mi) W from epicenter	Mariano Northern Mindanao, The Philippines.
258 km (160 mi) NW from epicenter	Surigao Caraga, The Philippines.
264 km (164 mi) W from epicenter	NIA Valencia Northern Mindanao, The Philippines.
269 km (167 mi) W from epicenter	Quezon Northern Mindanao, The Philippines.
271 km (168 mi) W from epicenter	Dologon Northern Mindanao, The Philippines.
278 km (173 mi) W from epicenter	Maramag Northern Mindanao, The Philippines.
281 km (175 mi) W from epicenter	Don Carlos Northern Mindanao, The Philippines.
282 km (175 mi) W from epicenter	Manolo Fortich Northern Mindanao, The Philippines.
293 km (182 mi) W from epicenter	Bugo Northern Mindanao, The Philippines.
294 km (183 mi) W from epicenter	Jasaan Northern Mindanao, The Philippines.
294 km (183 mi) W from epicenter	Tagoloan Northern Mindanao, The Philippines.
298 km (185 mi) SW from epicenter	Digos Davao, The Philippines.

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 III.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

This is likely an aftershock

Approximately 4 hrs before this earthquake hit, a larger 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck 12 km (7 mi) south of this one. For that reason, we classify the Mag. 5.4 earthquake as an aftershock.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.
Classification	Magnitude	When	Where
Foreshock	M 3.2	2 days earlier Oct 27, 2026 11:15AM (Manila Time)	79 km (49 mi) SW from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 3.3	1 day earlier Oct 28, 2026 06:57AM (Manila Time)	71 km (44 mi) SW from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 5.4	1 min earlier Oct 29, 2026 11:17AM (Manila Time)	2.5 km (1.6 mi) E from Main Shock.
Main Shock	M 5.8	Oct 29, 2026 11:19AM (Manila Time)	-
Aftershock	M 4.4	14 mins later Oct 29, 2026 11:33AM (Manila Time)	49 km (31 mi) NE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.0	1 hr later Oct 29, 2026 12:34PM (Manila Time)	22 km (13 mi) NW from Main Shock.
Aftershock This Earthquake	M 5.4	4 hrs later Oct 29, 2026 03:31PM (Manila Time)	12 km (7 mi) N from Main Shock.

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.

Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).

Earthquakes like this happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. In total, 114 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.4 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

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

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

Factor	Under Sea?	MAG-6.5 or stronger?	Shallow depth?
Explanation	Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami.	Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's.	Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor.
This Earthquake	This earthquake appears to have struck under the sea.	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.4. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 10 km (6 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 29/10/26 09:18 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.