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Moderate mag. 4.9 earthquake - South China Sea, 52 km southwest of ollong-gapo, Philippines, on Friday, Mar 17, 2023 at 9:56 pm (GMT +8) -

Moderate mag. 4.9 earthquake - South China Sea, 52 km southwest of ollong-gapo, Philippines, on Friday, Mar 17, 2023 at 9:56 pm (GMT +8) Moderate mag. 4.9 earthquake - South China Sea, 52 km southwest of ollong-gapo, Philippines, on Friday, Mar 17, 2023 at 9:56 pm (GMT +8)

Moderate magnitude 4.9 earthquake at 40 km depth

17 Mar 13:59 UTC: First to report: VolcanoDiscovery after 3 minutes.
17 Mar 14:05: Now using data updates from PHIVOLCS
17 Mar 15:06: Now using data updates from USGS
Update Fri, 17 Mar 2023, 14:12

Moderate 4.9 quake hits near ollong-gapo, Zambales, Central Luzon, Philippines

4.9 quake 17 Mar 9:56 pm (GMT +8)
4.9 quake 17 Mar 9:56 pm (GMT +8)
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) reported a magnitude 4.9 quake in the Philippines near ollong-gapo, Zambales, Central Luzon, only 16 minutes ago. The earthquake hit in the evening on Friday, March 17th, 2023, at 9:56 pm local time at a shallow depth of 21 km. 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.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.
Weak shaking might have been felt in San Nicolas (pop. 2,800) located 48 km from the epicenter, San Antonio (pop. 34,200) 49 km away, Subic (pop. 67,700) 55 km away, Castillejos (pop. 27,300) 56 km away, ollong-gapo (pop. 221,200) 57 km away, Dinalupihan (pop. 66,700) 76 km away, Mariveles (pop. 84,600) 76 km away, Balanga (pop. 73,000) 80 km away, and Angeles City (pop. 299,400) 103 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.

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Earthquake details

Date & timeMar 17, 2023 13:56:04 UTC -
Local time at epicenterFriday, Mar 17, 2023 at 9:56 pm (GMT +8)
StatusConfirmed
Magnitude4.9
Depth40.1 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude14.4992°N / 119.946°E (South China Sea, Philippines)
Antipode14.499°S / 60.054°W
Shaking intensityWeak shaking
Felt24 reports
Primary data sourceUSGS (United States Geological Survey)
Nearest volcanoNatib (55 km / 34 mi)
Nearby towns and cities39 km (24 mi) SW of Sabang (pop: 5,140) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
40 km (25 mi) WSW of Morong (Bataan) (pop: 16,100) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
52 km (32 mi) SW of ollong-gapo (pop: 221,200) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
52 km (32 mi) SW of Subic (pop: 67,700) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
59 km (36 mi) W of Mariveles (pop: 84,600) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
99 km (62 mi) SW of San Fernando City (pop: 251,200) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
100 km (62 mi) SW of Angeles City (pop: 299,400) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
112 km (70 mi) W of Manila (pop: 1,600,000) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
202 km (125 mi) SW of Luzon Island (pop: 46,228,000) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
214 km (133 mi) NW of Mindoro Island (pop: 1,331,500) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
Estimated seismic energy released1.4 x 1012 joules (392 megawatt hours, equivalent to 338 tons of TNT) | about seismic energy
Show interactive Map
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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.
Mag.DepthLocationSource
4.940 kmPhilippines: 049 Km S 40° W of San Antonio (Zambales)USGS
4.940 kmLuzon, PhilippinesRaspberryShake
4.533 kmLuzon, PhilippinesGFZ
5.060 kmLuzon, PhilippinesGeoAu
4.960 kmLUZON, PHILIPPINESEMSC
4.819 km39 Km WSW of Sabang, PhilippinesPHIVOLCS
4.910 kmLuzon, PhilippinesIRIS

Seismograms

Seismic station: Taitung (TWGB/TW network) | Distance from quake: 933 km / 580 mi | Show on map | Station Info
Seismic station Taitung: vertical movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)
Seismogram (vertical component) around time of quake. Thin dotted red line indicates time of quake. Seismic waves arrive some time later, depending on distance. Bandpass filter applied: 0.2-5.0 Hz. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool
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User reports for this quake (24)

User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
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Mariveles, Bataan (68.1 km E of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 5-10 s : It was like kind of intense at outside but not that intense in the inside but every hanged object swung (reported through our app)  
Subic Freeport Zone / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s : It felt close, I was sleeping when I suddenly woke up with the windows vibrating and my bed shaking, but I'm just glad it wasn't worse..  
Hermosa, Bataan / Very weak shaking (MMI II) : I was asleep.already and felt dizzy a bit. I thought I was only dreaming but felt more dizzier when I open my eyes.  
San Benito, Bataan, Central Luzon (61 km NE of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s
Makati (116 km E of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s : Very slightly my hanging light was movign side to side but i could not feel the earthquake my self  
Manila, Philippines (113.5 km E of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 10-15 s : You can feel the shaking when you are not moving, loose electric fan moving  
Olongapo City, Zambales (51.8 km NE of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s
Olongapo (54.3 km NE of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II)
Naic Cavite (94.3 km E of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II)
Castillejos zambales Philippines (54.6 km NNE of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : In bed sleeping. 5.0 magnitude.  
Subic (51.1 km NE of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s (reported through our app)
Morong, Bataan, Luzón Central (40 km ENE of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 10-15 s : House. Ironing my clothes  
Limay, Bataan (70.4 km E of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s
Mariveles (64.7 km E of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) : Home lighy shaking 10 sec  
Ollong-gapo, Zambales, Luçon centrale (53.5 km NE of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : Shaking moderately (reported through our app)  
Ollong-gapo, Zambales, Luçon centrale (53.8 km NE of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / 1-2 s : I was lying in my bed and suddenly the bed is shaking  
bataan (58.4 km E of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) : laying then suddenly the floor shakes  
Navotas (110.2 km E of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s : I'm ready to sleep when i felt slight and barely shaking. I thought i was just dizzy  
Paranaque / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : Obviously felt on 6flr of condominium. I was only sitting checking my cp when I felt it.  
san pablo dinalupihan bataan / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / 2-5 s : little Vibrate to my back since i was lying down  
Nasugbu, Batangas / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 2-5 s : Very weak shaking  
The Nook, Morong Bataan / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / 10-15 s : This earthquake has moderately shocked the building, then i felt dizzy for a while  
mariveles / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging (reported through our app)
pasig / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 5-10 s
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Earlier earthquakes in the same area

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