The Philippines lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, which causes the country to have frequent seismic and volcanic activity. Many earthquakes of smaller magnitude occur very regularly due to the meeting of major tectonic plates in the region. The largest was the 1918 Celebes Sea earthquake with . Spanish period Earthquakes recorded from the 17th to 19th century: 17th century 18th century 19th century American period and post–World War II (1900-1999) 20th century Mid to Late 20th century 21st century Largest earthquakes by year The largest or most notable Philippine earthquakes per year since 2001. As for the repeated entries, Moro Gulf near the Cotabato Trench is a seismically active area (the location of the devastating 1918 Celebes Sea earthquake and 1976 Moro Gulf earthquake). Meanwhile, Samar and Davao Region are near the northern and southern portions of the Philippine Trench, respectively. 2001–present Only earthquakes of magnitude 7.0+ are included, unless the event is notable such as causing casualties, or significant damage. A magnitude 7.5 quake struck Mindanao on January 1, 2001, at a depth of 33 km. A magnitude 7.5 quake struck Southern and Central Mindanao on March 5, 2002 at a depth of 31 km. At least 15 people were killed, 100 injured and 800 buildings were damaged or destroyed. A magnitude 6.1 quake struck Sultan Kudarat on March 6, 2002. Office of Civil Defense (OCD) records show that 8 people had died and 41 were injured due to the earthquake. It affected 7,684 families in the provinces of Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Cotabato and South Cotabato including four cities and 17 municipalities. A magnitude 6.2 quake struck Masbate on February 15, 2003, at a depth of 22 km. The quake damaged major infrastructures in Masbate. A magnitude 6.5 quake struck Can-avid, Eastern Samar on November 18, 2003. A five-year old child died, crushed by a falling wall, while 21 others, including his mother, suffered injuries. Many structures were damaged or destroyed in various parts of the province, including a school. A landslide occurred in the town of Taft. Power outages occurred throughout Eastern Samar. A magnitude 5.7 earthquake hit Sultan Kudarat on September 18, 2009. At least 91 people were injured and 76 houses, 2 commercial buildings, and a fence of a high school were damaged in the province as well in neighboring South Cotabato. In the town of Norala, two houses were totally destroyed. A