On Saturday Evening a Shallow M5.6 Earthquake struck in the Maluku Sea 264km from Ternate (Indonesia).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on June 15th, 2024. Last updated June 29th, 2024.

A shallow and significant Magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck in the Maluku Sea 264 kilometer from Ternate, Indonesia in the evening of Saturday June 15th, 2024. Shaking may have been felt by a total of 740 thousand people.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Maluku Sea, 96 kilometers (60 mi) off the coast of Indonesia, 264 kilometer north of Ternate in North Maluku. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 29 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Jun 15, 2024 22:08 (Jayapura Time) - Jun 15, 2024 13:08 Universal Time.
Location:	264 km north of Ternate, North Maluku, Indonesia. Coordinates 3°9'45"N 127°17'32"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.6 Detected by 16 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.078 .
Depth:	29 km (18 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	V Moderate On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 96% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Roughly 740 thousand people exposed to shaking

An estimated 740 thousand have been exposed to shaking (An MMI or Modified Mercalli Intensity level II or higher) as a result of this earthquake according scientific estimates published by the USGS.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is IV, which corresponds with light shaking and likely no damage. Roughly 271,400 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 460 thousand). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Indonesia .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
0	II	Very weak	None
463,800	III	Weak	Probably none
271,400	IV	Light	Likely none
0	V	Moderate	Very light
0	VI	Strong	Light
0	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Indonesia . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Ternate in North Maluku, Indonesia. Ternate is located 264 kilometer (164 mi) north of the epicenter.

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place
264 km (164 mi) S from epicenter	Ternate North Maluku, Indonesia.
271 km (168 mi) S from epicenter	Sofifi North Maluku, Indonesia.

Earthquake Intensity Map

The graph below overlays a map of the region around the epicenter with earthquake intensity data provided by the US Geographic Survey. The highest intensity level detected for this earthquake is IV.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

3 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 3 smaller aftershocks occurred. Just 15 hrs after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-3.7 was detected 76 km (47 mi) west-southwest of this earthquake.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.
Classification	Magnitude	When	Where
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 5.6	Jun 15, 2024 22:08 (Jayapura Time)	-
Aftershock	M 3.7	15 hrs later Jun 16, 2024 13:35 (Jayapura Time)	76 km (47 mi) WSW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.1	2 days later Jun 18, 2024 01:14 (Jayapura Time)	45 km (28 mi) WSW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.6	3 days later Jun 18, 2024 12:24 (Jayapura Time)	92 km (57 mi) WNW from Main Shock.

More earthquakes coming?

Earthquakes can create aftershocks. These are generally at least 1 magnitude lower than any main shock, and as time passes the chance and strength of aftershocks decreases.

It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.

Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).

Earthquakes like this happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since June 12th, 2024, when a 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit 164 km (102 mi) further northwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck on November 14th, 2019.

In total, 65 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.6 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 2 months.

Low tsunami risk

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

Based on early data it appears this earthquake was not strong enough (lower than MAG-6.5) to be likely to cause destructive tsunami's. However this earthquake appeared to have hit at a shallow depth under sea, so stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Factor	Under Sea?	MAG-6.5 or stronger?	Shallow depth?
Explanation	Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami.	Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's.	Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor.
This Earthquake	This earthquake appears to have struck under the sea.	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.6. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 29 km (18 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 29/06/24 13:58 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.