Significant earthquakes of 1970

January 10, 1970 Earthquake: Mindanao, Philippines

January 10, 1970 · M7.6

A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck Mindanao, Philippines on January 10, 1970 at 12:07:08 UTC, 73 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
January 10, 1970
Time
12:07:08 UTC
Place
Mindanao, Philippines
Magnitude
7.6 (Ms)
Magnitude scales
Ms 7.6 · mb 7.1
Focal depth
73 km (45 mi)
Intensity
VI, strong shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
Epicenter
6.800° N, 126.700° E
Region
Central and South Pacific

Ms: surface-wave magnitude. mb: body-wave (P-wave) magnitude. NCEI’s headline magnitude is the best of these for the earthquake.

The toll

The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this earthquake.

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

January 10, 1970, 15hr 07min. A strong earthquake occurred in the Philippine Islands. In Davao it became dark everywhere. In Buluan windows rattled and buildings swayed. The National Weather Bureau reported that the earthquake was felt at an intensity of VI points (on the Rossi-Fore1 scale) in Davao; V points in Kagayan, Oro, and Hinatuan; IV in Surigao; III in Taloban; II in Cebu and Virak. A considerable tsunami was observed. (reference #417)

Sources NCEI cites

The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.

  1. #1229 Bath, M., and S.J. Duda (1979). Some Aspects of Global Seismicity, Report no. 1-79, Seismological Institute, Uppsala, Sweden, 41 p.
  2. #45 U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey and U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (1928-1986). United States Earthquakes, Annual publication, published 1928-1986. vol.s for 1928-1965 issued by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey; volumes for 1966-1969 issued by the National Earthquake Information Center; volume for 1970 issued by the National Geophysical Data Center; volumes for 1971-1972 issued by the National Geophysical And Solar-Terrestrial Data Center; volumes for 1973-1980 published jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Geological Survey; volumes for 1981-1986 published by the U.S. Geological Survey. [on shelf]
  3. #417 Soloviev, S L., Ch. N. Go, and Kh. S. Kim (1992). Catalog of tsunamis in the Pacific, 1969-1982. Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow, 208 p. Translated from Russian by Amerind Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India, 1988 [Originally published in Russian in 1986].
  4. #1232 International Seismological Centre (1964-1990). Regional Catalogue of Earthquakes, 1964-1990, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

More

Significant earthquakes of 1970The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1970Recent 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 4514. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event iscgem799944, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.