March 18, 1985 Earthquake: Pagadian, Zamboanga, Philippines
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Pagadian, Zamboanga, Philippines on March 18, 1985 at 19:49:45 UTC, 33 km below the surface. It killed 2 people.
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
- March 18, 1985
- Time
- 19:49:45 UTC
- Place
- Pagadian, Zamboanga, Philippines
- Magnitude
- 6.5 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 33 km (21 mi)
- Intensity
- 5 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 7.758° N, 123.544° E
- Country
- Philippines
The toll
- Deaths
- 2
- Injuries
- 25
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 30
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.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- August 16, 1976, S, Mindanao, Philippines
- March 31, 1955, Lanao,ozamiz,cotabato, Mindanao, Philippines
- December 19, 1928, Cotabato,n Coast of Illana Bay, Philippines
- May 5, 1925, W. Luzon Island, Philippines
- October 29, 2019, Cotabato, Davao, Mindanao, Philippines
- October 16, 2019, Cotabato, Davao, Mindanao, Philippines
- December 21, 1636, Illana Bay, Mindanao, Philippines
- August 21, 1902, Lanao, Cotabato, Mindanao, Philippines
- July 23, 1885, Dapitan, NE Mindanao, Philippines
- December 8, 1871, Cotabato,polloc Harbor, W Mindanao, Philippines
- August 17, 1976, Mindanao, Philippines
- September 23, 2017, Lanao del Sur Province, Mindanao, Philippines
- June 14, 1978, Mindanao Island, Philippines
- September 1, 1922, Philippines
- July 23, 2010, Moro Gulf, Celebes Sea, Philippines
More
Significant earthquakes of 1985The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1985Recent 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 5061.