M5.0 earthquake near Laoag, Ilocos

What happened

A magnitude 5 earthquake struck Babuyan Islands region, Philippines on 12 Jan 2021, 13:38 UTC at a depth of 10 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Moderate. Can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Laoag, about 96 km away in Ilocos, Philippines.