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Seismicity of the Philippines: CE 305-CE31S3 - Principles of Earthquake Engineering

1.4. Seismicity of the Philippines

Seismicity of the Philippines

Geologic Setting of the Philippines

The Philippines exhibit significant seismic and volcanic activity given its location along the
circumferential belt around the Pacific, otherwise known as the Ring of Fire. With the archipelago
lying along the boundaries of the Philippine Sea Plate, it is directly affected by the relative
movement of adjacent major plates. The country is situated between the oblique convergence
between the minor Sunda Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate which extended from Luzon in the
north down to Sulawesi in the south.

There are unusual features in the Philippine tectonic setting. Its enigmatic geologic characteristic
stems from the combination of continental rifting, oceanic spreading, continent-arc collision and
oblique subduction over time. There are two subduction zones moving in opposite directions on
each side of the archipelago, with a major transform fault system (Philippine Fault) traversing
between these zones. The northwestward movement of the Pacific Plate pushes the Philippine
Sea Plate underneath the eastern portion of the Philippine Islands (along Philippine Trench and
the East Luzon Trough) at a rate of 7 cm/year. Meanwhile, the Sunda Plate (a block of the
Eurasian plate) is subducting beneath the western portion of the Philippine Islands (along Manila,
Negros, Sulu and Cotabato trenches) at a rate of 3 cm/year.

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The Philippine landmass is literally being squeezed and sheared off due to the opposing motions
of tectonic plates that are present in the expanse of the archipelago.

The country can also be divided into 2 major blocks:

1. Palawan-Mindoro Continental Block

Originally part of the Asian mainland
Separated from the Asian landmass (Mesozoic), followed by steady drift towards the south
during the formation of the West Philippine Sea (Late Paleogene)
1. Philippine Mobile Belt
Originated from island arc formations during Cretaceous period
A zone of decoupling from surrounding major tectonic plates (also called Philippine
Microplate)

Active Faults and Trenches in the Philippines

Major Fault System in the Philippines:

1. Philippine Fault System (1200km across the archipelago)

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1990 Luzon earthquake was caused by the Digdig Fault at the north portion of the
Philippine Fault System.
Composed on multiple segments across the country spanning from Ilocos to the Davao
Gulf
Central segments of Guinayangan, Masbate and Central Leyte are most active
North and south extensions experience infrequent earthquakes and are considered locked
segments which are capable of larger magnitude earthquakes
2. Marikina Valley Fault System
West Valley Fault (spanning from Dona Remedios Trinidad, Bulacan to Canlubang,
Laguna) - expected to have M7.2 earthquake. Also a transform fault.
East Valley Fault (Rodriguez to San Mateo, Rizal)
3. Lubang-Verde Island Passage System
4. East Zambales Fault
5. West Ilocos Fault System
6. Central Mindoro Fault
7. Mindanao Fault

Major Trenches in the Philippines:

Philippine Trench
East Luzon Trough
Manila Trench
Negros Trench
Sulu Trench
Cotabato Trench

Active fault systems in the Philippines are depicted in maps provided by the National Structure
Code of the Philippines. A fault map of the entire Philippines is shown below. Regional maps are
also provided in the Code as a clearer reference for structural designers.

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Notable Earthquakes in Philippine History

Over the recent centuries, hundreds of earthquakes have been documented with epicenter
situated in the domain of the country. This is most aptly illustrated through the figure below where
a summary of seismic events resulting to magnitudes greater than or equal to 4.0 are marked,
along with the corresponding focal depth (with most of them at 0-65 km which is characteristic of
destructive shallow focus earthquakes).

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Notable Earthquakes in Philippine History

1. Mw 8.3 Celebes Sea earthquake (1918) - resulted into a tsunami with a maximum run-up of
7.2m which affected the coasts of Celebes Sea, leading to 52 casualties.
2. Mw 7.8 Lady Caycay earthquake (1948) - heavily impacted Iloilo with the Oton Church and
Jaro Cathedral severely damaged
3. Mw 7.6 Casiguran earthquake (1968) - generated tsunami that claimed 207 lives, and caused
the collapse of Ruby Tower in Manila
4. Mw 8.0 Moro Gulf earthquake (1976) - created a tsunami which resulted to 8000 dead as the
quake happened during midnight
5. Mw 7.8 Luzon earthquake (1990) - major damages were recorded in Dagupan (liquefaction),
Baguio, and Cabanatuan
6. Mw 7.2 Bohol earthquake (2013) - major damages to several heritage churches and 73000
other structures across the Visayas region.

Indeed, the country served home to a number of earthquakes. Even then, it is worth noting that
while most of the country is situated at Seismic Zone 4 (where seismic activities are abundant),
places like Palawan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi are safer havens in the context of seismicity - said

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provinces belong to Seismic Zone 2 where minimal seismic events have been observed. It can be
noted that these zones coincide with the tectonic blocks of the country.

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