On September 30, 2025, at 21:59:43 PHT (13:59:43 UTC), an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 on the moment magnitude scale () struck the Visayas archipelago in the Philippines. It was the strongest earthquake ever recorded in northern Cebu and the deadliest in the country since 2013, with its epicenter located off the coast of Cebu Province in the Central Visayas region. The earthquake was felt in all of Central Visayas while also felt in some areas of Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Mindanao and Southern Luzon (particularly Bicol). Thousands of aftershocks were recorded. PHIVOLCS confirmed that the newly named Bogo Bay Fault was the source of the earthquake after documenting surface ruptures and fault scarps in Bogo. Numerous buildings, including churches and hospitals, were damaged, with destruction reported as far away as Cebu City. Tsunami advisories were issued, widespread power outages occurred, and landslides caused additional damage. In response, schools were closed in several parts of the Visayas. The government deployed response teams to support relief efforts. Following the earthquake, many countries expressed their readiness to assist the Philippines. Eleven days after the Cebu earthquake, another pair of earthquakes struck eastern Mindanao; however, it was determined that the two events were unrelated.
As of October 24, 2025, the Philippines' National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported 79 deaths, 599 injuries, and at least in infrastructure damage. A total of 160,662 houses were damaged, of which 7,410 were completely destroyed.
Tectonic setting
The Philippine Islands are situated within a highly deformed zone between the convergent boundary of the Eurasian and Philippine Sea plates, known as the Philippine Mobile Belt (PMB). Along the east, the Philippine Sea plate subducts beneath the islands at the Philippine and East Luzon trenches. Major subduction complexes are also active along the southwestern coast of Mindanao at the Cotabato Trench and along the Manila Trench of western Luzon.
Running through the PMB is the Philippine fault system; a large, 1,200-kilometer-long, highly segmented strike-slip fault system. This left-lateral system of faults runs from southeastern Mindanao to northwestern Luzon. Strike-slip deformation within the PMB occurs as a result of oblique subduction of the Philippine Sea plate, where the Philippine fault system accommodates much of it. The PMB has numerous subduction zones which dip either west or east depending on the location.
In the center of the PMB is the Visayas archipelago, bounded in the west by the Negros Trench and the Mindoro Collision Zone. Mesozoic and sedimentary formations are exposed but are unbearably covered by Paleogene and Neogene formations. These sedimentary formations are then covered by Plio-Pleistocene rocks. A large portion of these formations become an anticlinorium directed NNE, originating from multiple tectonic events. Rock units in central Cebu are divided into three units which are divided by shear zones trending NE. Three of these shear zones are identified as possible faults, particularly the Uling-Masaba Fault, Lutac-Jaclupan Fault, and an unnamed fault.
PHIVOLCS reported that between 1885 and 2013, Cebu and nearby provinces experienced at least eight strong earthquakes with magnitudes from M5.0 to M7.2, including ones recorded in 2012 and 2013. Cebu was not known to be as seismically active as other regions in central Philippines as there were barely any known faults which have generated earthquakes.
Earthquake The earthquake struck at 21:59:43 PHT (13:59:43 UTC), on September 30, with an epicenter that was located off the eastern coast of Daanbantayan in Cebu Province, Central Visayas. It was initially reported at a moment magnitude () of 6.7 by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), before being revised to 6.9, as reported by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). PHIVOLCS reported that the earthquake's depth was , while the USGS reported it at .
Analysis suggests that the 2025 event occurred in a region that had accumulated pressure from the 2017 Leyte earthquake. PHIVOLCS described the event as the strongest earthquake ever recorded in northern Cebu.
Bogo Bay Fault
On October 1, PHIVOLCS identified the fault that caused the earthquake. It was previously unnamed and rarely detected due to its underwater location, and it had not shown any significant movement for more than 400 years. PHIVOLCS stated that even though minor earthquakes with magnitudes below 4.5 were recorded in the area, they were too weak to indicate the presence of a fault that could cause an earthquake. On October 3, PHIVOLCS confirmed that the newly named Bogo Bay Fault was the source of the earthquake, after its Quick Response Team documented surface ruptures and fault scarps in Bogo.
PHIVOLCS reported that its drone surveys revealed the fault may extend up to , adding that the fault appeared to have moved in a right-lateral manner. PHIVOLCS also reported fissures and minor pressure mounds within a wide deformation area in Sitio Looc, Barangay Nailon, Bogo. Similarly, Mario Aurelio, the head of a quick response team formed by University of the Philippines, suggested that there could be an underwater rupture measuring up to long beneath the Camotes Sea northeast of Bogo and under the Tañon Strait southwest of San Remigio.
PHIVOLCS subsequently recommended avoiding the construction of structures at a distance of from the fault line and the evacuation of 44 houses along the fault line in three barangays of Bogo. PHIVOLCS reported that the fault movement caused about of coastal uplift in Barangay Nailon, as shown by the exposed tidal flats and raised tidal notches. At the same time, coastal subsidence was observed at Barangay Hagnaya, San Remigio, where the northeastern portion of Hagnaya Port became inundated by seawater during high tide.
Seismic intensity
A maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent) was estimated by the USGS; according to their Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response service, approximately 47,000 people were within the zone of intensity IX, in multiple barangays of Bogo, Daanbantayan and Medellin, with 318,000 others in Tabogon, Borbon and San Remigio exposed to MMI VIII (Severe) shaking. An additional three million people were exposed to VI-VII (Strong-Very strong) shaking in Cebu, Leyte, Masbate and Negros Occidental provinces; MMI VI was felt in Cebu City. MMI V (Moderate) shaking was felt by about 11.27 million people across the Visayas and nearby areas, including Iloilo, Bacolod, Samar, Bohol and Roxas City. The earthquake was felt as far away as Quezon in Luzon and Davao del Sur in Mindanao. On the PHIVOLCS earthquake intensity scale, a maximum intensity of VII (Destructive) was felt in at Daanbantayan, Bogo, Medellin, Tabogon, Tabuelan, and San Remigio. Shaking in areas near the epicenter lasted approximately 30 seconds.
+PEIS reported intensitiesIntensity ScalesLocationVIIBogo, Daanbantayan, Medellin, San Remigio, and Tabuelan, Cebu; Cebu CityVIMurcia, Negros Occidental; Bantayan, Borbon, Catmon, and Sogod, CebuVCataingan, Esperanza, and Pio V. Corpus, Masbate; Cadiz, Hinigaran, Moises Padilla, San Carlos, San Enrique, Sipalay, and Toboso, Negros Occidental; Dauis, Tagbilaran, and Talibon, Bohol; Alcoy, Argao, Asturias, Carmen, Compostela, Consolacion, Dalaguete, Danao, Liloan, Oslob, Samboan, San Fernando, and Santander, Cebu; Lapu-Lapu City; Almeria, Biliran, Cabucgayan, Caibiran, Culaba, Kawayan, Maripipi, and Naval, Biliran; Abuyog, Alangalang, Albuera, Babatngon, Barugo, Bato, Baybay, Burauen, Calubian, Capoocan, Carigara, Dagami, Dulag, Hilongos, Hindang, Inopacan, Isabel, Jaro, Javier, Julita, Kananga, La Paz, Leyte, Macarthur, Matag-ob, Matalom, Mayorga, Merida, Palo, Palompon, Pastrana, San Isidro, San Miguel, Santa Fe, Tabango, Tabontabon, Tanauan, Tolosa, Tunga, and Villaba, Leyte; Ormoc; TaclobanIVLigao, Albay; Dimasalang, Mandaon, Masbate City, Milagros, Monreal, Palanas, San Fernando, and San Jacinto, Masbate; Bulan, Bulusan, Casiguran, Irosin, Magallanes, and Pilar, Sorsogon; Dao, Roxas City, and Sigma, Capiz; Leganes, Iloilo; Bago, Himamaylan, Ilog, and Kabankalan, Negros Occidental; Ubay, Bohol; Amlan, Bacong, Bais, Bayawan, Dauin, San Jose, Santa Catalina, Tanjay, Dumaguete and Zamboanguita, Negros Oriental; Arteche, Borongan, Can-avid, Dolores, General Macarthur, Guiuan, Hernani, Lawaan, Mercedes, Oras, Salcedo, San Julian, Sulat, and Taft, Eastern Samar; Mahaplag, Leyte; Allen, Bobon, Catarman, Catubig, Gamay, Laoang, Lapinig, Lope De Vega, Mapanas, Mondragon, Palapag, Pambujan, Rosario, San Antonio, San Roque, and Victoria, Northern Samar; Almagro, Calbayog, Catbalogan, Marabut, San Jorge, and Tagapul-an, Samar; Anahawan, Bontoc, Hinunangan, Hinundayan, Libagon, Liloan, Limasawa, Maasin, Macrohon, Malitbog, Padre Burgos, Pintuyan, Saint Bernard, San Francisco, San Juan, San Ricardo, Silago, Sogod, and Tomas Oppus, Southern Leyte; Dipolog, Zamboanga del Norte; Mambajao, Camiguin
Aftershocks By October 21, 2025, at least 13,584 aftershocks were recorded, the strongest being a 5.8 event at 01:05 PHT on October 13. The aftershocks were recorded at magnitudes of 1.0–5.8, with 71 of them being felt.
Impact
, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reported that 753,317 people across Central and Eastern Visayas were affected. Additionally, 185,888 houses were damaged, of which 10,566 were destroyed. The Visayan Electric Company reported power outages in some areas. The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said that the earthquake disconnected Leyte, Samar, and parts of Bohol from the Cebu-Negros-Panay grid. It also recorded damage to its Daanbantayan Substation and the tripping of four 230k V transmission lines in the Visayas. Twenty-seven power stations failed, resulting in power outages that affected 819,843 consumers across 309 municipalities. Business operations in the Philippines were disrupted when the Cebu IT Park was evacuated. Power outages also occurred in Iloilo City.
Multiple sinkholes appeared in Daanbantayan and Medellin following the earthquake. At least 100 sinkholes were discovered in San Remigio alone while 16 appeared in Bogo.
On October 13, a magnitude 5.8 aftershock hit San Remigio, injuring 14 people. A road cracked in San Remigio, while a water tank fell on a house in Santa Fe. Power outages occurred in Bogo, while several houses in the city that had been damaged by the mainshock collapsed. A fish kill also occurred in Bogo.
Damage
As of October 24, 2025, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) estimated that at least worth of infrastructure had been damaged. Collapsed structures include the Archdiocesan Shrine of Santa Rosa de Lima church in Daanbantayan and a bridge in San Remigio. Some 5,587 classrooms sustained minor damage, 803 sustained major damage, and 1,187 were destroyed, with more than 19,000 students and 950 teachers and staff affected. Four police stations were damaged. More than 140 heritage and tourism sites were damaged, affecting more than 2,000 workers in the tourism sector. Around 339 guests were evacuated from the Nustar Resort and Casino in Cebu City after its canopy collapsed and walls cracked. A total of 959 infrastructures were damaged due to the earthquake, including 11 road sections and 25 bridges. At least three seaports were non-operational, stranding at least 214 passengers. Around of damage was recorded in Cebu's fishing industry, while agricultural damages in the province reached . The Department of Education said 2,787 schools in three regions were damaged, with 1,631 of them in Central Visayas alone, while 1,736 students and 227 teachers were injured. It valued the amount of damage at .