Philippines earthquakes

M5.1 earthquake 17 km ENE of Cortes, Philippines

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 17 km ENE of Cortes, Philippines on Mon, Mar 19, 1979, 2:32 PM GMT+8 (06:32 UTC), 57 km (35 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M6.0 Mindanao, Philippines. This one was a foreshock.

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Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.1 (mb, body-wave), moderate
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Mon, Mar 19, 1979, 2:32 PM GMT+8
UTC: 1979-03-19 06:32:36 UTC
Depth: 57.0 km (35.4 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 9.356° N, 126.333° E
Region: Philippines
Tsunami flag: No
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Magnitude estimates

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.	Scale	Computed by	Notes
5.1	mb, body-wave	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed
5.24	Mw, moment	ISCGEMSUP	Final · ±0.2

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Stations used: 79

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.1 and up: 15 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Philippines earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000zgj (also filed as iscgemsup668495). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 5:50 AM UTC.