Powerful 6.9 Quake Strikes Bohol, Displacing Thousands
A powerful earthquake, measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale, struck Bohol on September 30, 2025, causing significant damage and loss of life. The author and her sisters were among those displaced, spending two weeks on living room couches after their homes were rendered uninhabitable.
The earthquake, which occurred at 9:59:43 PST, was caused by the Bogo Bay Fault and resulted in 68 deaths, 559 injuries, and an estimated P3 billion in damage. This event was not the first to affect the region. On October 15, 2013, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake, the strongest the author had experienced, struck Bohol. This earlier earthquake, which occurred at 8:12:31 PST, was caused by the North Bohol Fault and had an epicenter six kilometers S24W of Sagbayan, Bohol, at a shallow depth of 12 kilometers. The 2013 earthquake, which happened during the Muslim celebration of Eid-al-Adha, resulted in 222 deaths, 976 injuries, and P2.25 billion in damage.
Both earthquakes had significant aftershock sequences. The 2013 earthquake had 4,465 aftershocks, while the 2025 earthquake had 4,378 aftershocks in the same time period. The epicenter of the 2025 earthquake was located 19 kilometers northeast offshore of Bogo City, at a depth of five kilometers.
The 2025 earthquake, caused by the Bogo Bay Fault, added to the region's history of seismic activity. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has since named the fault responsible for the 2025 earthquake. The author's experience, along with the broader impact on the community, serves as a reminder of the region's seismic vulnerability.