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Strong mag. 5.6 earthquake - South China Sea, 132 km northeast of Laoag, Philippines, on Thursday, Mar 23, 2023 at 7:31 am (GMT +8) -

Strong mag. 5.6 earthquake - South China Sea, 132 km northeast of Laoag, Philippines, on Thursday, Mar 23, 2023 at 7:31 am (GMT +8) Strong mag. 5.6 earthquake - South China Sea, 132 km northeast of Laoag, Philippines, on Thursday, Mar 23, 2023 at 7:31 am (GMT +8)

Strong magnitude 5.6 earthquake at 30 km depth

22 Mar 23:35 UTC: First to report: VolcanoDiscovery after 4 minutes.
22 Mar 23:39: Now using data updates from GFZ
22 Mar 23:42: Magnitude recalculated from 5.2 to 5.3. Epicenter location corrected by 21 km (13 mi) towards SE.
22 Mar 23:49: Now using data updates from USGS
Update Thu, 23 Mar 2023, 00:03

Magnitude 5.6 earthquake strikes near Laoag, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos, Philippines

5.6 quake 23 Mar 7:31 am (GMT +8)
5.6 quake 23 Mar 7:31 am (GMT +8)
An earthquake of magnitude 5.6 occurred in the morning on Thursday, March 23rd, 2023, at 7:31 am local time near Laoag, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos, Philippines, as reported by the United States Geological Survey.
According to preliminary data, the quake was located at a moderately shallow depth of 30.2 km. Magnitude and other quake parameters can still change in the coming hours as the agency continues to process seismic data.
A second report was later issued by the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), which listed it as a magnitude 5.3 earthquake. Other agencies reporting the same quake include Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) at magnitude 5.7, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) at magnitude 5.3, and the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake at magnitude 5.6.
Generally quakes of this magnitude are recorded by more than one agency and the results can vary, with subsequent reports that come in after the first one often showing more accuracy.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake was probably felt by many people in the area of the epicenter. It should not have caused significant damage, other than objects falling from shelves, broken windows, etc.
In Namuac (pop. 3,000) located 71 km from the epicenter, and Claveria (pop. 10,600) 72 km away, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Cabaritan East (pop. 9,300) located 99 km from the epicenter, Aparri (pop. 33,200) 112 km away, Laoag (pop. 102,100) 132 km away, and San Nicolas de Ilocos (pop. 34,200) 134 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 22, 2023 23:31:55 UTC -
Local time at epicenterThursday, Mar 23, 2023 at 7:31 am (GMT +8)
StatusConfirmed
Magnitude5.6
Depth30.2 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude19.2526°N / 121.1612°E (South China Sea, Philippines)
Antipode19.253°S / 58.839°W
Shaking intensityLight shaking
Felt8 reports
Primary data sourceUSGS (United States Geological Survey)
Nearest volcanoBabuyan Claro (87 km / 54 mi)
Nearby towns and cities71 km (44 mi) N of Namuac (pop: 3,040) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
72 km (45 mi) N of Claveria (Cagayan) (pop: 10,600) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
99 km (62 mi) NNW of Cabaritan East (Cagayan) (pop: 9,350) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
112 km (69 mi) NNW of Aparri (Cagayan) (pop: 33,200) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
132 km (82 mi) NNE of Laoag (pop: 102,100) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
147 km (91 mi) NNE of Batac City (pop: 53,500) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
191 km (119 mi) NNW of Tuguegarao City (pop: 115,100) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
517 km (321 mi) N of Manila (pop: 1,600,000) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
362 km (225 mi) N of Luzon Island (pop: 46,228,000) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
Weather at epicenter at time of quakeScattered Clouds 25.3°C (78 F), humidity: 80%, wind: 4 m/s (9 kts) from SSE
Estimated seismic energy released1.6 x 1013 joules (4.4 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 3788 tons of TNT or 0.2 atomic bombs!) | 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
5.630 kmPhilippines: Philippine Islands RegionUSGS
5.630 kmPhilippines: Philippine Islands RegionRaspberryShake
5.640 kmBABUYAN ISL REGION, PHILIPPINESEMSC
5.720 kmPhilippines [Sea]INGV
5.610 km71 Km N of Namuac, PhilippinesGFZ
5.622 kmPhilippines: 018 Km N 33° W of Dalupiri Island (Calayan) (Cagayan)PHIVOLCS
5.624 kmPhilippines: Philippine Islands RegionGeoAu
5.210 kmPhilippines: 菲律宾群岛地区CEIC
5.410 kmPhilippines: Near KaohsiungRENASS

User reports for this quake (8)

User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
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Centro West,Ballesteros,Cagayan (100.7 km SSE of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Im Currently At School,Just Practicing A contest for tomorrow until me and my friend Felt that there was an earthquake.Meanwhile some student here also felt that,Most students did not,Were all safe.  
Tuguegarao City (190.6 km SSE of epicenter) [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s : Tuguegarao city, Tuguegarao. I was in bed. | One user found this interesting.  
Carig, Cagayan Valley (188 km SSE of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s : Soing desk work on the 5th floor, when I noticed light shaking | One user found this interesting. (reported through our app)  
Sarrat, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos (133.6 km SSW of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 1-2 s (reported through our app)
Sanchez Mira (77.4 km S of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s (reported through our app)
Laoag city / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / very short
Badoc / Very weak shaking (MMI II)
San juan ilocos sur / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 2-5 s : Very weak shaking 4 seconds (reported through our app)  

Aftershocks

[More info]

Recorded aftershocks, latest first (26 quakes)

Date and timeMag
Depth
LocationDetails
May 20, 2023 20:35
2 weeks ago
2.1

27 km
South China Sea, 87 km NW of Aparri, Cagayan, PhilippinesMore
May 20, 2023 12:31
2 weeks ago
2.0

18 km
South China Sea, 96 km NE of Laoag, Province of Ilocos Norte, PhilippinesMore
May 16, 2023 23:27
3 weeks ago
2.3

14 km
South China Sea, 96 km NW of Aparri, Cagayan, PhilippinesMore
May 15, 2023 12:30
3 weeks ago
3.1

6 km
South China Sea, 96 km NW of Aparri, Cagayan, PhilippinesMore
May 13, 2023 19:50
3 weeks ago
2.7

9 km
South China Sea, 92 km NW of Aparri, Cagayan, PhilippinesMore
May 4, 2023 14:30
4 weeks ago
2.3

10 km
South China Sea, 59 km N of Claveria, Cagayan, PhilippinesMore
May 1, 2023 20:13
5 weeks ago
2.2

19 km
South China Sea, 72 km N of Claveria, Cagayan, PhilippinesMore
Apr 26, 2023 15:39
6 weeks ago
2.2

1 km
South China Sea, 50 km N of Claveria, Cagayan, PhilippinesMore
Apr 25, 2023 16:38
6 weeks ago
2.0

10 km
South China Sea, 89 km NW of Aparri, Cagayan, PhilippinesMore
Apr 24, 2023 12:55
6 weeks ago
2.5

33 km
South China Sea, 94 km N of Claveria, Cagayan, PhilippinesMore
Apr 20, 2023 16:01
6 weeks ago
2.2

24 km
South China Sea, 70 km N of Claveria, Cagayan, PhilippinesMore
Apr 20, 2023 15:43
6 weeks ago
4.4

15 km
South China Sea, 135 km N of Laoag, Province of Ilocos Norte, PhilippinesMore
Apr 20, 2023 14:03
6 weeks ago
2.3

27 km
South China Sea, 65 km N of Claveria, Cagayan, PhilippinesMore
Apr 19, 2023 09:04
7 weeks ago
4.5

37 km
South China Sea, 78 km N of Claveria, Cagayan, PhilippinesMore
Apr 19, 2023 09:04
7 weeks ago
4.2

15 km
South China Sea, 68 km N of Claveria, Cagayan, PhilippinesMore
Apr 18, 2023 00:40
7 weeks ago
2.0

4 km
South China Sea, 90 km NW of Aparri, Cagayan, PhilippinesMore
Apr 14, 2023 20:39
7 weeks ago
3.1

11 km
South China Sea, 99 km NW of Aparri, Cagayan, PhilippinesMore
Apr 8, 2023 19:44
8 weeks ago
2.8

28 km
South China Sea, 78 km N of Claveria, Cagayan, PhilippinesMore
Apr 5, 2023 15:21
9 weeks ago
3.3

13 km
South China Sea, 99 km NW of Aparri, Cagayan, PhilippinesMore
Mar 29, 2023 00:28
10 weeks ago
3.4

20 km
South China Sea, 69 km N of Claveria, Cagayan, PhilippinesMore
Mar 28, 2023 15:31
10 weeks ago
2.2

33 km
South China Sea, 92 km NW of Aparri, Cagayan, PhilippinesMore
Mar 27, 2023 07:10
10 weeks ago
3.0

3 km
South China Sea, 65 km N of Claveria, Cagayan, PhilippinesMore
Mar 25, 2023 11:52
10 weeks ago
3.2

34 km
South China Sea, 76 km N of Claveria, Cagayan, PhilippinesMore
Mar 23, 2023 16:40
10 weeks ago
3.7

15 km
South China Sea, 144 km N of Laoag, Province of Ilocos Norte, PhilippinesMore
Mar 23, 2023 00:42
10 weeks ago
3.3

32 km
South China Sea, 82 km N of Claveria, Cagayan, PhilippinesMore
Mar 23, 2023 00:20
10 weeks ago
3.1

28 km
South China Sea, 82 km N of Claveria, Cagayan, PhilippinesMore

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