M5.2 earthquake 69 km NE of Palapag, Eastern Visayas, Philippines
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 69 km NE of Palapag, Eastern Visayas, Philippines at 16:37 local time (08:37 UTC) on 21 Oct 2026, at a depth of 10 km, according to USGS and GFZ.
Reported by 2 agencies · 1 reports to USGS “Did You Feel It?”
Data: USGS, GFZ · updated 2026-11-10 14:28 UTC · reviewed
- Magnitude
- 5.2moderate
body-wave magnitude (mb) - Depth
- 10 km
- Status
- Reviewed
- Origin time
- 2026-10-21 08:37:40 UTC
- Local: 21 Oct 2026, 16:37:40 (Asia/Manila)
- Epicentre
- 13.005° N, 125.541° E
Circles show this event and others within 50 km from 7 days before to 30 days after. Lines: plate boundaries and GEM active faults. Open on the live map
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Est. shaking |
|---|---|---|
| PalapagEastern Visayas, Philippines · pop. 8,342 | 69 km | IVLight |
| GamayEastern Visayas, Philippines · pop. 9,125 | 73 km | IVLight |
| CatarmanEastern Visayas, Philippines · pop. 97,738 | 113 km | IIIWeak |
| Calbayog CityEastern Visayas, Philippines · pop. 67,921 | 146 km | IIIWeak |
| TaclobanEastern Visayas, Philippines · pop. 259,353 | 205 km | IIWeak |
| Lapu-Lapu CityCentral Visayas, Philippines · pop. 497,813 | 346 km | INot felt |
| Mandaue CityCentral Visayas, Philippines · pop. 331,320 | 347 km | INot felt |
| Cebu CityCentral Visayas, Philippines · pop. 965,332 | 348 km | INot felt |
Shaking is an estimate from the intensity prediction equation of Allen, Wald & Worden (2012), not an observation. Local ground and buildings can change it by a level or more. Likely felt out to about 158 km.
Every agency's solution
Agencies locate earthquakes with their own stations and methods, so their numbers differ. We match reports of the same event by time, distance and magnitude and show them side by side. The headline uses USGS, which has been reviewed by an analyst.
How big was it?
Felt by most people over a wide area. Can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre.
It released roughly the energy of 951 t of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step means about 32 times more energy and 10 times larger waves on a seismogram. Depth matters too: at 10 km this was a shallow earthquake, which is felt more strongly at the surface than a deeper one of the same size.
M5.2 releases about 32× the energy of M4.2, and its waves are about 10× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 951 t of TNT vs 30 t of TNT.
Each square is the energy of one M4.2. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.
Aftershocks and nearby activity
No later earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km so far. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.
Did you feel it?
Reports from people help show where shaking was strong. They are anonymous and shown here in aggregate.
Reports close 14 days after an earthquake.
Event id gfz2026upzm. First recorded here 21 Oct 2026, 08:47:30 UTC. Solutions: GFZ (geofon:gfz2026upzm); USGS (usgs:us6000u3t6). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M5.2 earthquake 69 km NE of Palapag, Eastern Visayas, Philippines”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/gfz2026upzm-m5-2-earthquake-69-km-ne-of-palapag-eastern-visayas-philippines, data from USGS, GFZ.
JSON: /api/v1/events/gfz2026upzm. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.