M5.1 Earthquake 65 km SSW of Sarangani, Philippines — June 9, 2026

On June 9, 2026 at 17:40 UTC, a magnitude 5.1 shallow crustal earthquake struck 65 km SSW of Sarangani, Philippines, at a depth of 36.2 km and coordinates 4.8395°, 125.2852°. This earthquake was detected by 59 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 400, placing it among routine seismic activity.

Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 674 metric tons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 2.0 km — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.

Active aftershock sequence: This earthquake is the mainshock of an ongoing aftershock sequence. In the 94 hours since the mainshock, the USGS has recorded 6 aftershocks within 20 km of the epicenter, including 6 of magnitude 3.0 or greater. The strongest aftershock was a magnitude 5.5 event 2 days ago. Aftershock sequences from mainshocks of magnitude 5.1 typically continue for days to weeks and gradually diminish over time, though occasional larger aftershocks remain possible.

The epicenter is located in Philippines, a region characterized by the Manila Trench and Philippine Trench subduction systems, where the Philippine Sea Plate overrides the Eurasian Plate. The nearest mapped fault system is the Philippine Fault. View all earthquakes in Philippines.

Learn more: Magnitude scale · Aftershock sequences