The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology recorded a Magnitude 6.0 Earthquake at a depth of 10 km about 11 km to the east of the island of Matabao in Masbate Province, slightly before 2.10 am local time on Thursday 16 February 2023 (slightly before 6.10 pm on Wednesday 15 February GMT). People have reported feeling this event across the central Philippines, but there have been no reports of any damage or injuries associated with this Earthquake, and no tsunami warning was issued.
The location of the 16 February 2023 Masbate Province Earthquake. USGS.
The geology of the Philippines is complex, with the majority of the islands located on the east of the Sunda Plate. To the east of this lies the Philippine Sea plate, which is being subducted beneath the Sunda Plate (a breakaway part of the Eurasian Plate); further east, in the Mariana Islands, the Pacific Plate is being subducted beneath the Philippine Sea Plate. This is not a smooth process, and the rocks of the tectonic plates frequently stick together before eventually being broken apart by the rising pressure, leading to Earthquakes in the process. Material from the subducting Philippine Plate is heated by the temperature of the Earth's interior, causing lighter minerals to melt and the resultant magma to rise through the overlying Sunda Plate, fueling the volcanoes of the Philippines
See also...
