An earthquake of magnitude 6.6 occurred only 20 minutes ago 31 km south of Balayan, Philippines, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) reported.


The quake hit at an intermediate depth of 130 km beneath the epicenter near Balayan, Philippines, early morning on Saturday 24 July 2021 at 4:48 am local time. 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 France’s Réseau National de Surveillance Sismique (RéNaSS) which listed the quake at magnitude 6.4. Other agencies reporting the same quake include Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) at magnitude 6.7, the United States Geological Survey at magnitude 6.8, Geoscience Australia (GeoAu) at magnitude 6.6, and the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) at magnitude 6.6.


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 Tingloy (pop. 2,600) located 14 km from the epicenter, Balayan (pop. 50,100) 31 km away, Balayan (pop. 50,100) 31 km away, Calaca (pop. 37,400) 31 km away, Taal (pop. 39,700) 31 km away, Batangas (pop. 237,400) 36 km away, Nasugbu (pop. 62,900) 47 km away, Calapan City (pop. 66,000) 55 km away, Manila (pop. 1,600,000) 108 km away, and Quezon City (pop. 2,761,700) 115 km away, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.