M5.3 earthquake 62 km SW of Basco, Philippines
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 62 km SW of Basco, Philippines on Sat, Mar 17, 1979, 8:39 AM GMT+8 (00:39 UTC), 45 km (28 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.3 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1979-03-17 00:39:58 UTC
- Depth
- 45.0 km (28.0 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 20.127° N, 121.483° E
- Region
- Philippines
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- CONSTRAINED_BY_DEPTH_PHASES
- Stations used
- 158
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.792 km SW of Basco, Philippines · 17346 days ago · 40 km deep · 37 km away
- 4.666 km WSW of Basco, Philippines · 17323 days ago · 26 km deep · 8 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayPhilippines earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000zek (also filed as gcmtb031779a, gcmt19790317003958, iscgem668320). Read Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 8:12 AM UTC.