M4.5 earthquake 14 km N of Punta, Philippines
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 14 km N of Punta, Philippines on Sun, Sep 20, 1981, 5:20 AM GMT+8 (21:20 UTC), 47 km (29 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.8 Mindanao, Philippines. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.5 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-09-19 21:20:04 UTC
- Depth
- 46.6 km (29.0 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 9.122° N, 125.331° 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 1.5 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.8Mindanao, Philippines · 16429 days ago · 33 km deep · 66 km away
- 3.724 km NNW of Cortes, Philippines · 16417 days ago · 49 km deep · 99 km away
- 5.013 km S of Claver, Philippines · 16391 days ago · 33 km deep · 59 km away
- 4.36 km WSW of Gamut, Philippines · 16382 days ago · 105 km deep · 87 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayPhilippines earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001fzk. Read Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 5:13 AM UTC.