Light mag. 4.8 earthquake - South China Sea, 10.9 km south of Calaca, Batangas, Calabarzon, Philippines, on Saturday, 16 Jan 2021 6:48 am (GMT +8) -
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Light magnitude 4.8 earthquake at 185 km depth
15 Jan 23:00 UTC: First to report: GFZ after 11 minutes.
Update Fri, 15 Jan 2021, 23:06
Light magnitude 4.8 earthquake 11 km southwest of Calaca, Philippines4.8 quake 16 Jan 6:48 am (GMT +8)
An earthquake of magnitude 4.8 occurred early morning on Saturday 16 January 2021 at 6:48 am local time near Calaca, Province of Batangas, Calabarzon, Philippines, as reported by the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ).
According to preliminary data, the quake was located at an intermediate to considerable depth of 185 km. The strength of the earthquake may have been tempered by its relative great depth below the surface, which makes it feel weaker in absolute terms. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
Our monitoring service identified a second report from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) which listed the quake at magnitude 4.5. A third agency, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), reported the same quake at magnitude 4.5.
Towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Hukay (pop. 2,200) located 8 km from the epicenter, Calaca (pop. 37,400) 11 km away, Balayan (pop. 50,100) 12 km away, Balayan (pop. 50,100) 12 km away, Calatagan (pop. 16,100) 16 km away, Taal (pop. 39,700) 16 km away, Bauan (pop. 33,600) 25 km away, Batangas City (pop. 237,400) 31 km away, Las Piñas (pop. 590,000) 71 km away, and Manila (pop. 1,600,000) 88 km away.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.
According to preliminary data, the quake was located at an intermediate to considerable depth of 185 km. The strength of the earthquake may have been tempered by its relative great depth below the surface, which makes it feel weaker in absolute terms. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
Our monitoring service identified a second report from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) which listed the quake at magnitude 4.5. A third agency, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), reported the same quake at magnitude 4.5.
Towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Hukay (pop. 2,200) located 8 km from the epicenter, Calaca (pop. 37,400) 11 km away, Balayan (pop. 50,100) 12 km away, Balayan (pop. 50,100) 12 km away, Calatagan (pop. 16,100) 16 km away, Taal (pop. 39,700) 16 km away, Bauan (pop. 33,600) 25 km away, Batangas City (pop. 237,400) 31 km away, Las Piñas (pop. 590,000) 71 km away, and Manila (pop. 1,600,000) 88 km away.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.
Earthquake data:
Date & time: 15 Jan 2021 22:48:57 UTC -
Local time at epicenter: Saturday, 16 Jan 2021 6:48 am (GMT +8)
Magnitude: 4.8
Depth: 185.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 13.84°N / 120.78°E
(South China Sea, Philippines)Nearest volcano: Taal (29 km / 18 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
8 km (5 mi) E of Hukay (pop: 2,230) --> See nearby quakes!
11 km (7 mi) SSW of Calaca (pop: 37,400) --> See nearby quakes!
12 km (7 mi) SSE of Balayan (Batangas) (pop: 50,100) --> See nearby quakes!
12 km (7 mi) SSE of Balayan (pop: 50,100) --> See nearby quakes!
16 km (10 mi) WSW of Taal (pop: 39,700) --> See nearby quakes!
30 km (19 mi) SSE of Nasugbu (pop: 62,900) --> See nearby quakes!
31 km (20 mi) WNW of Batangas (pop: 237,400) --> See nearby quakes!
33 km (20 mi) SSW of Tagaytay (pop: 71,200) --> See nearby quakes!
88 km (55 mi) SSW of Manila (pop: 1,600,000) --> See nearby quakes!
95 km (59 mi) SSW of Quezon City (pop: 2,761,700) --> See nearby quakes!
107 km (66 mi) NNW of Mindoro Island (pop: 1,331,500) --> See nearby quakes!
241 km (150 mi) S of Luzon Island (pop: 46,228,000) --> See nearby quakes!
Weather at epicenter at time of quake:
Few Clouds
25°C (77 F), humidity: 83%, wind: 2 m/s (4 kts) from NNE
Primary data source: GFZ (German Research Centre for Geosciences)Few Clouds
25°C (77 F), humidity: 83%, wind: 2 m/s (4 kts) from NNEEstimated released energy: 1 x 1012 joules (278 megawatt hours, equivalent to 239 tons of TNT) More info
Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies
Info: The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.
| Magnitude | Depth | Location | Source |
| 4.8 | 185 km | Mindoro, Philippines | GFZ |
| 4.6 | 168 km | MINDORO, PHILIPPINES | EMSC |
| 4.8 | 153 km | 005 Km N 74° W of Calatagan (Batangas), Philippines | PHIVOLCS |
| 4.6 | 159 km | 4 Km SSE of Hukay, Philippines | USGS |
User reports for this quake (7)
User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
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Leave a comment if you find a particular report interesting or want to add to it.
Flag as inappropriate.
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Send your own user report!
65.3 km NNE of epicenter [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) (reported through our app)
83.6 km NNE of epicenter [Map] / not felt (reported through our app)
Honiara,Solomon Islands (5039.8 km ESE of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 1-2 s : A small tremor and not last fo a long time
111.4 km NNE of epicenter [Map] / not felt (reported through our app)
Santa Rosa (53.4 km NNE of epicenter) [Map] / not felt (reported through our app)
Lemery batangas / not felt
38.9 km ENE of epicenter [Map] / not felt (reported through our app)
Earlier earthquakes in the same area
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