M5.2 earthquake 184 km SE of Sarangani, Philippines
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 184 km SE of Sarangani, Philippines on Mon, Jul 20, 1987, 3:53 PM GMT+8 (07:53 UTC), 81 km (51 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.6 150 km S 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
- 5.2 (Mw, moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1987-07-20 07:53:46 UTC
- Depth
- 81.3 km (50.5 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 4.079° N, 126.480° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.2 | Mw, moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.2 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.2 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
CENTROID, MOMENT TENSOR (HRV) Data Used: GDSN L.P.B.: 15S, 28C Centroid Location: Origin Time 07:53:44.5 1.5 Lat 4.01N 0.10 Lon 126.41E 0.10 Dep 77.5 6.0 Half-duration 1.6 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**16 Nm Mrr=-5.72 0.59 Mtt=7.52 0.83 Mff=-1.81 1.23 Mrt=1.17 0.78 Mrf=2.22 0.63 Mtf=-3.14 0.72 Principal Axes: (T) Val=8.50 Plg=2 Azm=17 (N) Val=-1.37 Plg=29 Azm=285 (P) Val=-7.13 Plg=60 Azm=110 Best Double Couple:Mo=7.8*10**16 NP1:Strike=133 Dip=50 Slip=-50 NP2:Strike=261 Dip=54 Slip=-128
From the USGS event page for usp00036sv. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
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 2.2 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.6150 km S of Sarangani, Philippines · 14319 days ago · 51 km deep · 100 km away
- 5.1168 km SSE of Sarangani, Philippines · 14277 days ago · 170 km deep · 49 km away
- 4.4217 km NNW of Tobelo, Indonesia · 14275 days ago · 33 km deep · 94 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayPhilippines earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00036sv (also filed as gcmtb072087a, gcmt19870720075346, iscgem462499). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 6:27 PM UTC.