M5.3 earthquake 20 km E of Union, Philippines
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 20 km E of Union, Philippines on Fri, Oct 5, 1979, 9:02 AM GMT+8 (01:02 UTC), 53 km (33 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.5 17 km ESE of Pilar, Philippines. This one was a foreshock.
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
- 1979-10-05 01:02:56 UTC
- Depth
- 53.0 km (32.9 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 9.789° N, 126.290° 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.
- Stations used
- 76
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.517 km ESE of Pilar, Philippines · 17161 days ago · 41 km deep · 6 km away
- 4.737 km ENE of Aras-asan, Philippines · 17152 days ago · 71 km deep · 93 km away
- 5.012 km W of Dapa, Philippines · 17122 days ago · 106 km deep · 39 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayPhilippines earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000138h (also filed as gcmtb100579b, gcmt19791005010256, iscgem656618). Read Mon, Sep 28, 2026, 5:46 PM UTC.