May 13, 1897 Earthquake: Masbate Island, Philippines
A magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck Masbate Island, Philippines on May 13, 1897 at 11:22 UTC, 33 km below the surface. 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
- May 13, 1897
- Time
- 11:22 UTC
- Place
- Masbate Island, Philippines
- Magnitude
- 7.9 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 33 km (21 mi)
- Intensity
- VIII, severe shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 12.000° N, 124.000° E
- Country
- Philippines
- Region
- Central and South Pacific
The toll
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Some (about 51 to 100)
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.
1897, May 13, 19:22 local time. Intensity VIII. Masbate island. Destructive earthquake which heavily damaged several buildings, bridges, and wharves. A strong repetition occurred at 14h 9m on the 15th. Weak aftershocks were frequent until the 27th. (reference #1072)
1897, May 13, 11:22 UTC. Masbate. Intensity II which corresponds to buildings may be unroofed or shattered and some may fall, the ground may be badly cracked in places and small landslips occur. (reference #1055)
1897, May 13. Intensity VIII. Masbate, destructive.
(reference #1058)
1897, May 13, 12:30 UTC, 12 N, 124 E, shallow depth, magnitude 7.9. (reference #88)
1897, May 13, 12:30 UTC, 12 N, 124 E, shallow depth, magnitude 7.9. (reference #1006)
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #1006 Richter, Charles F. (1958). Elementary Seismology. W.H. Freeman and Co., San Francisco, California, 768 p.
- #1055 Milne, John (1911). Catalogue of Destructive Earthquakes [7 to 1899 A.D.], Report of the 81st Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Portsmouth, London, United Kingdom, p. 649-740.
- #1072 Maso, S.J., Rev. Miguel Saderra (1910). Catalogue of Violent and Destructive Earthquakes in the Philippines, with an Appendix, Earthquakes in the Marianas Islands; 1599-1909. Department of the Interior, Philippine Islands Weather Bureau, Manila Central Observatory, 1910.
- #88 Duda, Seweryn J. (1965). Secular seismic energy release in the circum-Pacific belt. Tectonophysics, vol. 2, no. 5, p. 409-452. DOI:10.1016/0040-1951(65)90035-1
- #1058 Sevilla, Valenzuela and Bellosiool (1965). Seismicity of the Philippines. Individual Studies by Participants to the International Institute of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering, Tokyo, Japan, December 1965, vol. 2, Part 1, p. 34-63.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- September 30, 2025, Cebu, Central Visayas, Philippines
- March 22, 1840, Sorsogon,masbate Is,casiguran,albay, Philippines
- July 2, 1954, Sorsogon, Bacon, Legaspi, Luzon, Philippines
- July 6, 2017, Leyte, Philippines
- August 18, 2020, Masbate, Philippines
- August 22, 2017, Ormoc, Leyte, Philippines
- November 18, 2003, Can-Avid, Samar, Philippines
- February 15, 2003, Masbate, Dimasalang, Philippines
- February 15, 2003, Dimasalang, Luzon, Philippines
- March 5, 2012, Masbate Island, Philippines
- November 8, 1912, Sorsogon, Philippines
- November 17, 1988, Catarman, Catbalogan, Samar, Philippines
- August 16, 1869, Masbate Island, Philippines
- July 12, 1931, Masbate, Philippines
- September 1743, Leyte, Philippines
More
Significant earthquakes of 1897The 1800sRecent 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 2507.