A powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake, at a depth of 45 km (28 miles), struck the Philippines on June 7 at 7:37 a.m. local time (11:37 p.m. UTC).
The epicenter was located approximately 13 km (8 miles) from Glan, in Sarangani Province.
Authorities report 35 fatalities and 144 injuries.
The tremors were felt as far as 420 km away, in the city of Manado, on Indonesia’s Sulawesi Island.
Located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a vast belt of tectonic faults surrounding the Pacific Ocean, the archipelago is particularly exposed to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
According to the specialized website EarthquakeToday.net, which records earthquakes as far back as historical archives and scientific data allow, the archipelago has experienced:
– 3 earthquakes of magnitude 8.0 or higher, in 1918 (M 8.3), 1924 (M 8.1) and 1972 (M 8.0),
– 75 earthquakes with magnitudes between 7 and 8;
– 3,736 earthquakes with magnitudes between 6 and 7.
Countries Recording the Strongest Earthquakes in 2026
| Country | Magnitude > 6 | Magnitude > 7 | Magnitude > 8 |
| Indonesia | 132 | 7 | 1 |
| Japan | 77 | 5 | 1 |
| Russia | 70 | 5 | 0 |
| New Zealand | 69 | 4 | 0 |
| Philippines | 60 | 8 | 1 |
| United States | 38 | 6 | 1 |
| Papua New Guinea | 37 | 1 | 0 |
| Tonga | 30 | 1 | 1 |
| Vanuatu | 25 | 3 | 1 |
| Chile | 23 | 4 | 0 |
| China | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| Fiji | 22 | 3 | 0 |
| Afghanistan | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| Canada | 12 | 6 | 5 |
| Peru | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| Mexico | 10 | 1 | 0 |
The Most Powerful Earthquakes
| Country | Date | Magnitude |
| Chile | 22/05/60 | 9.5 |
| United States, Alaska | 28/03/64 | 9.2 |
| Japan | 11/03/11 | 9.1 |
| Indonesia | 26/12/04 | 9.1 |
| Russia | 04/11/52 | 9.0 |
| United States | 27 Jan 1700 | 9.0 |
| Russia | 29/07/25 | 8.8 |
| Chile | 27/02/10 | 8.8 |
| Ecuador | 31/01/06 | 8.8 |
| Russia | 04/02/65 | 8.7 |
| Indonesia | 11/04/12 | 8.6 |
| Indonesia | 28/03/05 | 8.6 |
| United States | 09/03/57 | 8.6 |
| India | 15/08/50 | 8.6 |
| United States | 01/04/46 | 8.6 |
The Deadliest Earthquakes
| Country | Date | Magnitude | Death Toll |
| China | 27/07/76 | 8.2 | 240,000 |
| Haiti | 12/01/10 | 7.2 | 230,000 |
| Indonesia | 26/12/04 | 9.4 | 227,898 |
| China | 16/12/20 | 8.6 | 200,000 |
| China | 22/05/27 | 8.3 | 200,000 |
| Japan | 01/09/23 | 8.3 | 143,000 |
| USSR | 05/10/48 | 7.3 | 110,000 |
| Italy | 28/12/08 | 7.5 | 100,000 |
| China | 12/05/08 | 7.9 | 87,149 |
| Pakistan | 08/10/05 | 7.6 | 79,410 |
| China | 25/12/32 | 7.6 | 70,000 |
| Peru | 31/05/70 | 8.0 | 66,000 |
| Turkey / Syria | 06/02/23 | 7.8 | 56,350 |
| Pakistan | 30/05/35 | 7.5 | 45,000 |
| Iran | 20/06/90 | 7.7 | 45,000 |
| Turkey | 26/12/39 | 8.0 | 30,000 |
| Italy | 13/01/15 | 7.5 | 29,980 |
| Chile | 24/01/39 | 8.3 | 28,000 |
| Iran | 26/12/03 | 6.6 | 26,271 |
| Armenia | 07/12/88 | 7.0 | 25,000 |
| Guatemala | 04/02/76 | 7.5 | 23,000 |
| India | 26/01/01 | 7.7 | 20,085 |
| Japan | 11/03/11 | 9.3 | 20,000 |
| Mexico | 19/09/85 | 8.1 | 20,000 |
| China | 10/05/74 | 6.8 | 20,000 |
| India | 04/04/05 | 8.6 | 19,000 |
| Turkey | 17/08/99 | 7.4 | 17,118 |
| Iran | 31/08/68 | 7.3 | 16,000 |
| Indonesia | 21/01/17 | 8.2 | 15,000 |
Sources:
– Powerful Earthquake Strikes the Philippines | The Guardian
– Biggest Earthquakes in History | EarthQuakeToday.net
– Biggest Earthquakes in the Philippines | EarthQuakeToday.net
– Earthquake Statistics | volcanodiscovery.com
– Earthquakes: the regions most at risk | Futura-Sciences
– Map: Phoenix7777 / Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
https://cdn8.futura-sciences.com/a1080/tmp/morgane/map_sismicite.jpg
