765 quakes recorded in Sultan Kudarat since Monday; class, work suspensions still on

TACURONG CITY (MindaNews / 23 January) – Classes across Sultan Kudarat province and work in government offices in three of its coastal towns remained suspended Friday due to the offshore earthquake swarm that struck the province beginning Monday.

As of 6 a.m. Friday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) recorded 765 earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from 1.4 to 5.2.

An ‘earthquake swarm’ is a sequence of many small-to-moderate earthquakes in a specific area over a short time (days to months) without a single, dominant mainshock.

Residents who were preemptively evacuated because of the series of quakes sought refuge at a public school gymnasium in Kalamansig, Sultan Kudarat on Thursday, 22 January 2026. DSWD-12 photo

Out of the figure, 234 were plotted, meaning they were recorded by at least three Phivolcs seismic monitoring stations, of which 30 were felt and assigned with corresponding intensity levels, a Phivolcs advisory said.

Sultan Kudarat Gov. Datu Pax Ali Mangudadatu ordered the suspension of work and classes in public and private institutions across the province before dawn last Tuesday as safety response.

This after a Magnitude 5.2 earthquake shook the province at 3 a.m. Tuesday. The epicenter of the quake (first reported by PHIVOLCS at Magnitude 5.3 but corrected to 5.2 shortly after) struck 44 kilometers southwest of Kalamansig with a depth of two kilometers. The tremor was tectonic in origin.

At 7:51 p.m. last Tuesday, Mangudadatu lifted the suspension order, except for the coastal towns of Kalamansig, Lebak and Palimbang (KALEPA), which continuously felt the earthquake swarm.

At 11:37 a.m. on Wednesday, he again ordered the suspension of work in government offices and classes in public and private schools all throughout the province due to the series of quakes that hit the area.

By late afternoon Wednesday, the governor advised the residents of KALEPA to stay alert “following recent earthquakes and recurring aftershocks that may pose a tsunami risk in coastal areas.”

The mayors of KALEPA enforced pre-emptive evacuations in response to Mangudadatu’s pronouncements. But so far, PHIVOLCS has not issued any advisory indicating an imminent tsunami or a need for evacuation of the coastal communities due to the earthquake swarm in Kalamansig.

At 8: 49 p.m. on Wednesday, the governor announced the cancellation of classes across the province and work in KALEPA, and blended working arrangement for the rest of Sultan Kudarat, for the next day (Thursday) due to the continuing quakes.

On Thursday night, Mangudadatu said the same directive will be in effect today (Friday).

At least 12 more earthquakes that struck off Kalamansig were recorded by PHIVOLCS after 6 a.m. Friday until 10: 29 a.m., ranging from Magnitude 1.5 to 3.6.

Responding to the needs of the quake evacuees, the Department of Social Welfare and Development – Region 12’s Disaster Response Management Division on Thursday transported to Kalamansig town 2,000 vacuum-packed family food packs, 1,000 ready-to-eat food packs, 200 plastic mats, 50 laminated sacks, 10 modular tents, and 10 family tents . (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)