August 12, 1749 Earthquake: Taal Volcano, Philippines
An earthquake struck Taal Volcano, Philippines on August 12, 1749 at 01:00 UTC. It caused a tsunami.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- August 12, 1749
- Time
- 01:00 UTC
- Place
- Taal Volcano, Philippines
- Intensity
- 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Volcano
- The eruption it came with
- Epicenter
- 14.002° N, 120.993° E
- Country
- Philippines
The toll
- Deaths
- Few (about 1 to 50) with its tsunami and other effects
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
1749, August 12, 01h0m GMT. Philippines, S. Luzon, Manila (Rizal, Laguna, Cavie, Batangas), N. Mindoro. Intensity III which corresponds to an earthquake which destroyed towns and devastated districts. (reference #1055)
1749, August 4, intensity VIII. Central Luzon. Violent earthquake accompanied by eruption of Taal Volcano. (reference #1058)
1749, August 12, 09 a.m. Violent earthquake accompanied eruption of Taal. (reference #4152)
1749, August 12, 09 local time, intensity IX. A violent eruption of Taal Volcano, which caused great havoc in all the towns on the shores of Lake Bombon. The shocks which accompanied each of the intermittent outbursts of the volcano were so severe that they left hardly any building undamaged throughout the provinces in the neighborhood of Manila-Rizal, Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, Tayabas, and in northern Mindoro. The convulsions of the ground were very remarkable; displacements occurred and fissures, both wide and deep, opened in the entire Province of Batangas and likewise in Cavite Province, up to Lake Bay. As the shocks occurred during many days, the majority of Manila's inhabitants abandoned the Walled City and lived under tents or in structures of bamboo and nipa. The greatest force of the earthquakes and, consequently, the greatest upheavals seem to have occurred in the region stretching from Taal Volcano toward Talim Island (Lake Bay) and the Antipolo Mountain Range. Repetitions and aftershocks were frequent during nearly a year. (reference #1072)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- July 16, 1990, Baguio, Cabanatuan, Dagupan, Philippines
- January 27, 1911, Taal Volcano, Luzon, Philippines
- June 15, 1991, Manila, Pinatubo Eruption, Luzon, Philippines
- November 30, 1645, S Batangas to N Cagayan, Luzon, Philippines
- June 3, 1863, Manila, Rizal, Bulacan, Philippines
- November 14, 1994, Mindoro, Philippines
- June 19, 1665, Manila, Philippines
- April 22, 2019, Pampanga Province, Philippines
- May 15, 1754, Taal Volcano, Philippines
- January 12, 1743, Tayabas,laguna, Luzon, Philippines
- September 16, 1852, Bataan, Rizal, Pampanga,manila, Luzon, Philippines
- February 5, 1970, Odiongan, Luzon, Romblon I, Tablas I, Philippines
- December 7, 1677, Central,s, Luzon, Philippines
- June 19, 1988, San Jose, Calapan, Mindoro, Philippines
- August 20, 1937, Luzon, Philippines
More
Significant earthquakes of 1749The 1700sRecent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 1304.