[OC] Philippines: The 2023 Mindanao M7.6 Earthquake Produced the Largest Annual Count of M≥4.5 Earthquakes in the USGS Record Visualization

What This Visualization Shows

This data visualization displays "[OC] Philippines: The 2023 Mindanao M7.6 Earthquake Produced the Largest Annual Count of M≥4.5 Earthquakes in the USGS Record" and provides a clear visual representation of the underlying data patterns and trends. The visualization focuses on This visualization shows the annual number of earthquakes with magnitude ≥4.5 in the Philippines region from 1980–2025 using USGS catalog data.

One feature stands out clearly: 2023 recorded the highest annual count of M≥4.5 earthquakes in the entire time series.

A major contributor was the December 2, 2023 Mindanao earthquake (M7.6), one of the strongest earthquakes to affect the Philippines in recent decades.

Interestingly, the larger M7.7 Luzon earthquake of 1990 did not produce a comparable increase in the annual number of M≥4.5 events. In contrast, the 2023 sequence was followed by numerous strong aftershocks, including several M6+ events within hours of the mainshock.

The graph also shows a gradual increase in annual counts since the 1990s, with notable peaks around 2012, 2019, and especially 2023.

**Data source:** USGS Earthquake Catalog **Visualization:** Python **Region analyzed:** Philippines (shown on map), which allows us to understand complex relationships and insights within the data through visual storytelling.

Deep Dive into the Topic

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Data Analysis and Insights

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