In the Maluku Sea 245 kilometer from Manado, Indonesia, a significant M5.2 earthquake occurred in the evening of Sunday September 29th, 2024.
Felt the earthquake? Share this article: 
Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Maluku Sea, 116 kilometers (72 mi) off the coast of Indonesia, 245 kilometer east-northeast of Manado in North Sulawesi. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 47 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Sep 29, 2024 20:09 (Jayapura Time) - Sep 29, 2024 11:09 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 245 km ENE of Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Coordinates 2°29'8"N 126°48'50"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.2 Detected by 8 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.11 . |
| Depth: | 47 km (29 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 Ternate in North Maluku, Indonesia. Ternate is located 199 kilometer (124 mi) north-northwest of the epicenter.
The table below provides an overview of all places in proximity of today's earthquake.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 199 km (124 mi) SSE from epicenter |
Ternate North Maluku, Indonesia. |
| 211 km (131 mi) SSE from epicenter |
Sofifi North Maluku, Indonesia. |
| 245 km (152 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Manado North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
| 249 km (155 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Tondano North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
| 258 km (160 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Tomohon North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
5 Aftershocks detected
Since this main shock, 5 smaller aftershocks were detected. At a distance of 9 km (6 mi) north of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 3 days later. It measured a magnitude of 3.6
This main shock was prefaced by 1 smaller foreshock. Roughly 3 hrs before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-2.8 was detected nearby this earthquake.
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreshock | M 2.8 |
3 hrs earlier Sep 26, 2024 18:41 (Jayapura Time) | 51 km (32 mi) SSE from Main Shock. |
| Main Shock | M 3.8 |
Sep 26, 2024 22:09 (Jayapura Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 3.5 |
20 hrs later Sep 27, 2024 18:13 (Jayapura Time) | 69 km (43 mi) WSW from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.6 |
3 days later Sep 29, 2024 10:26 (Jayapura Time) | 94 km (58 mi) N from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.6 |
3 days later Sep 30, 2024 05:42 (Jayapura Time) | 9 km (6 mi) N from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 2.9 |
4 days later Sep 30, 2024 22:51 (Jayapura Time) | 80 km (50 mi) E from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 2.8 |
5 days later Oct 1, 2024 19:59 (Jayapura Time) | 71 km (44 mi) S from Main Shock. |
More earthquakes coming?
The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.
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 5.3 magnitude earthquake hit 161 km (100 mi) further south-southwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck on November 14th, 2019.
In total, 162 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.2 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 23 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 5.2. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 47 km (29 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 17/10/24 13:38 (). 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.
- US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000nh3j
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20240929_0000088
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
Share this article:
