In the Maluku Sea 188 kilometer from Manado, Indonesia, a significant MAG-5.1 earthquake occurred in the early afternoon of Thursday September 5th, 2024.
Felt the earthquake? Share this article: 
Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Maluku Sea, 70 kilometers (43 mi) off the coast of Indonesia, 188 kilometer south of Manado in North Sulawesi. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 64 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Sep 5, 2024 12:31 (Makassar Time) - Sep 5, 2024 04:31 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 188 km south of Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Coordinates 0°11'9"N 124°33'54"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.1 Detected by 112 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.054 . |
| Depth: | 64 km (40 mi) A quite shallow depth. |
| Tsunami Risk: | Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here. |
Nearby towns and cities
This earthquake may have been felt in Indonesia . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Tomohon in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Tomohon is located 169 kilometer (105 mi) south of the epicenter.
A complete list of nearby places is included below.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 169 km (105 mi) N from epicenter |
Tomohon North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
| 170 km (106 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Tondano North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
| 185 km (115 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Gorontalo Gorontalo, Indonesia. |
| 188 km (117 mi) N from epicenter |
Manado North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
| 215 km (134 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Luwuk Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
Aftershocks detected
Since this main shock, 1 smaller aftershock was detected. Just 2 hrs after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-3.5 was detected 10 km (6 mi) north-northeast of this earthquake.
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.1 |
Sep 5, 2024 12:31 (Makassar Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 3.5 |
2 hrs later Sep 5, 2024 14:51 (Makassar Time) | 10 km (6 mi) NNE from Main Shock. |
More earthquakes coming?
Aftershocks are usually at least 1 order of magnitude less strong than main shocks. The more time passes, the smaller the chance and likely strength of any potential aftershocks.
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 August 26th, 2024, when a 5.2 magnitude earthquake hit 246 km (153 mi) further north-east. An even stronger magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck on November 14th, 2019.
In total, 135 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.1 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 27 days.
Low tsunami risk
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 5.1. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 64 km (40 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 17/09/24 05:48 (). This article contains currently available information about the earthquake and is automatically composed. We continue to update this article up to a few days after the earthquake occurred.
- US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000npsr
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20240905_0000049
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
Share this article:
