November 18, 2003 Earthquake: Can-Avid, Samar, Philippines
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Can-Avid, Samar, Philippines on November 18, 2003 at 17:14:22 UTC, 35 km below the surface. It killed 1 person.
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
- November 18, 2003
- Time
- 17:14:22 UTC
- Place
- Can-Avid, Samar, Philippines
- Magnitude
- 6.5 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 35 km (22 mi)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 12.025° N, 125.416° E
- Country
- Philippines
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 21
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 1
- Houses damaged
- 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.
One person killed, 21 injured, one school
collapsed and many concrete structures damaged (VII
PIVS) at Can-Avid. A landslide blocked a highway near
Taft. Power outages occurred throughout Eastern Samar.
Felt (VI PIVS) at Borongan; (V PIVS) at Calbayog and
Catbalogan; (IV PIVS) at Catarman. Also felt (IV PIVS)
at Palo, Leyte and (II PIVS) at Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu
and at Legaspi, Luzon. (reference #1053)
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
- October 31, 1975, Philippines
- August 31, 2012, Cagayan DE Oro, Tacloban, Philippines
- April 21, 1995, Samar, Philippines
- April 21, 1995, Samar, Philippines
- October 18, 1897, Northern Samar, Philippines
- October 19, 1897, Northern Samar, Philippines
- October 20, 1897, Northern Samar, Philippines
- November 17, 1988, Catarman, Catbalogan, Samar, Philippines
- November 13, 1925, Samar I, Laoang I, Batag I, Philippines
More
Significant earthquakes of 2003The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2003Recent 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 5736.