M4.8 earthquake 180 km ESE of Sarangani, Philippines
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 180 km ESE of Sarangani, Philippines on Sun, Aug 16, 1981, 4:06 PM GMT+8 (08:06 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.9 229 km SE of Sarangani, 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
- 1981-08-16 08:06:20 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 4.532° N, 126.838° 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
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.6214 km SSE of Sarangani, Philippines · 16446 days ago · 83 km deep · 97 km away
- 4.9229 km SE of Sarangani, Philippines · 16428 days ago · 33 km deep · 50 km away
- 4.3208 km SE of Pondaguitan, Philippines · 16424 days ago · 141 km deep · 89 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayPhilippines earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001fan. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 4:14 PM UTC.