M4.8 earthquake 222 km SE of Pondaguitan, Philippines
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 222 km SE of Pondaguitan, Philippines on Fri, Sep 18, 1981, 1:09 AM GMT+8 (17:09 UTC), 198 km (123 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.2 144 km SE of Pondaguitan, Philippines. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.8 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-09-17 17:09:15 UTC
- Depth
- 198.0 km (123.0 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 5.148° N, 127.775° 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.
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.2144 km SE of Pondaguitan, Philippines · 16439 days ago · 130 km deep · 80 km away
- 4.3208 km SE of Pondaguitan, Philippines · 16424 days ago · 141 km deep · 36 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayPhilippines earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001fy3. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 11:02 AM UTC.