Significant earthquakes of 1918

September 13, 1918 Earthquake: Ivana,sabtan,san Vicente, Batanes, Philippines

September 13, 1918

An earthquake struck Ivana,sabtan,san Vicente, Batanes, Philippines on September 13, 1918 at 06:55 UTC.

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
September 13, 1918
Time
06:55 UTC
Place
Ivana,sabtan,san Vicente, Batanes, Philippines
Intensity
9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
Tsunami
None recorded
Epicenter
20.400° N, 121.950° E

The toll

Damage
Moderate (about $1 to $5 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.

1918, September 13. Intensity IX. Batan and Subtang. Destructive. (reference #1058)

1918, September 13, 2:55 p.m. Batanes Island: Batanes - violent earthquake of Intensity VII-VIII; causing some damage in the towns of Ivana and Sabtan. Santo Domingo de Basco - Intensity VII. Batan and Sabtan - the shock produced only some cracks in the thinner walls and the interior partitions of the buildings... Ivana - the earthquake ruined the small houses as well as the great buildings, churches and convents, because in all prevailed defective construction... (reference #1187)

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

More

Significant earthquakes of 1918The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1918Recent 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 3121.