A shallow magnitude 4.7 earthquake was reported late at night near Catarman, Northern Samar, Eastern Visayas, Philippines.According to Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency, the quake hit on Saturday, March 7th, 2026, at 11:53 pm local time at a shallow depth of 10. km. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones as they are closer to the surface. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.A second report was later issued by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), which listed it as a magnitude 4.9 earthquake. A third agency, the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake, reported the same quake at magnitude 4.9.Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake was probably felt by many people in the area of the epicenter. It should not have caused significant damage, other than objects falling from shelves, broken windows, etc. In Bantayan (pop. 4,000) located 8 km from the epicenter, Pambujan (pop. 10,800) 10 km away, Mondragon (pop. 5,200) 16 km away, and Laoang (pop. 16,700) 17 km away, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.Weak shaking might have been felt in Catarman (pop. 97,700) located 27 km from the epicenter, Calbayog City (pop. 67,900) 56 km away, and Catbalogan (pop. 107,900) 78 km away.Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Gubat (pop. 61,100) located 97 km from the epicenter.VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.Earthquake data: Date & time: Mar 7, 2026 11:53 pm (Manila time) local time (7 Mar 2026 15:53 GMT)Magnitude: 4.7Depth: 10.00 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude: 12.48°N / 124.89°E (Province of Northern Samar, Eastern Visayas, Philippines)Primary data source: BMKG