A shallow and significant MAG-5.2 earthquake struck in the Maluku Sea 248 kilometer from Manado, Indonesia in the evening of Sunday September 29th, 2024.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Maluku Sea, 115 kilometers (72 mi) off the coast of Indonesia, 248 kilometer east-northeast of Manado in North Sulawesi. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 26 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: | 248 km ENE of Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Coordinates 2°30'19"N 126°49'44"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: | 26 km (16 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 . Ternate in North Maluku, Indonesia is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 200 kilometer (124 mi) north-northwest of Ternate.
The table below provides an overview of all places in proximity of today's earthquake.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 200 km (124 mi) SSE from epicenter |
Ternate North Maluku, Indonesia. |
| 213 km (132 mi) SSE from epicenter |
Sofifi North Maluku, Indonesia. |
| 248 km (154 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Manado North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
| 251 km (156 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Tondano North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
| 261 km (162 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Tomohon North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
Aftershocks detected
This main shock was followed by 1 smaller aftershock. Just 10 hrs after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-3.6 was detected 92 km (57 mi) south-southwest of this earthquake.
In the days before this main shock, 1 smaller foreshock was detected. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 10 hrs earlier. It measured a magnitude of 3.6
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreshock | M 3.6 |
10 hrs earlier Sep 29, 2024 10:26 (Jayapura Time) | 45 km (28 mi) W from Main Shock. |
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.2 |
Sep 29, 2024 20:09 (Jayapura Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 3.6 |
10 hrs later Sep 30, 2024 05:42 (Jayapura Time) | 92 km (57 mi) SSW 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.
In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major 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 164 km (102 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 26 km (16 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 09/10/24 12:18 (). 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 us7000nh3j
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20240929_0000088
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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