On Monday Afternoon a Shallow M5.8 Earthquake struck 5mi from Indonesia.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on October 21st, 2024. Last updated October 22nd, 2024.

Around noon of Monday October 21st, 2024, a shallow and significant MAG-5.8 earthquake hit 5 miles from Indonesia. Around 240 thousand people have been exposed to shaking.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake struck 5 miles (8 km) from Indonesia The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 16 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Oct 21, 2024 12:24 (Jayapura Time) - Oct 21, 2024 03:24 Universal Time.
Location:	293 km NNW of Ambon, Maluku, Indonesia. Coordinates 1°10'15"S 127°24'56"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.8 Detected by 32 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.055 .
Depth:	16 km (10 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VII Very Strong 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 240 thousand people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 240 thousand people. That is the expected population size of the area exposed to a level of shaking of II or higher on the Modified Mercalli scale according to the USGS.

An estimated 1,780 people were exposed to level VI. At this level, strong shaking and probably light damage can be expected. The majority of people (roughly 150 thousand) live in an area exposed to level III, where weak shaking and probably no damage is expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Indonesia .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
10	II	Very weak	None
149,100	III	Weak	Probably none
80,600	IV	Light	Likely none
10,590	V	Moderate	Very light
1,780	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 . Sofifi in North Maluku, Indonesia is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 213 kilometer (132 mi) south of Sofifi.

A complete list of nearby places is included below.

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place
213 km (132 mi) N from epicenter	Sofifi North Maluku, Indonesia.
218 km (135 mi) N from epicenter	Ternate North Maluku, Indonesia.
293 km (182 mi) SSE from epicenter	Ambon Maluku, Indonesia.
293 km (182 mi) SE from epicenter	Amahai Maluku, Indonesia.
391 km (243 mi) NW from epicenter	Tondano North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is VI.

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.

27 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 27 smaller aftershocks occurred. At a distance of 8 km (5 mi) north of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 3 hrs later. It measured a magnitude of 5.7

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 5.8	Oct 21, 2024 12:24 (Jayapura Time)	-
Aftershock	M 3.9	13 mins later Oct 21, 2024 12:37 (Jayapura Time)	5 km (3 mi) NNW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.6	19 mins later Oct 21, 2024 12:42 (Jayapura Time)	75 km (46 mi) NNE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.9	29 mins later Oct 21, 2024 12:53 (Jayapura Time)	32 km (20 mi) W from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.8	46 mins later Oct 21, 2024 13:10 (Jayapura Time)	11 km (7 mi) NE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 5.2	48 mins later Oct 21, 2024 13:12 (Jayapura Time)	8 km (5 mi) NNE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.7	1 hr later Oct 21, 2024 13:42 (Jayapura Time)	16 km (10 mi) NNW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 5.7	3 hrs later Oct 21, 2024 15:32 (Jayapura Time)	8 km (5 mi) N from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.2	4 hrs later Oct 21, 2024 16:06 (Jayapura Time)	4 km (2.4 mi) E from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.4	4 hrs later Oct 21, 2024 16:19 (Jayapura Time)	76 km (47 mi) N from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.7	4 hrs later Oct 21, 2024 16:30 (Jayapura Time)	8 km (5 mi) E from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.7	4 hrs later Oct 21, 2024 16:48 (Jayapura Time)	19 km (12 mi) WNW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.2	5 hrs later Oct 21, 2024 17:02 (Jayapura Time)	42 km (26 mi) NE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.9	5 hrs later Oct 21, 2024 17:08 (Jayapura Time)	14 km (9 mi) W from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.0	5 hrs later Oct 21, 2024 17:15 (Jayapura Time)	12 km (7 mi) WNW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 5.2	5 hrs later Oct 21, 2024 17:24 (Jayapura Time)	2.9 km (1.8 mi) WNW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 5.0	5 hrs later Oct 21, 2024 17:35 (Jayapura Time)	11 km (7 mi) NE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.0	5 hrs later Oct 21, 2024 17:46 (Jayapura Time)	19 km (11 mi) WNW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.5	7 hrs later Oct 21, 2024 19:41 (Jayapura Time)	19 km (12 mi) WNW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.0	8 hrs later Oct 21, 2024 20:18 (Jayapura Time)	13 km (8 mi) NNW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.6	12 hrs later Oct 22, 2024 00:15 (Jayapura Time)	3 km (1.9 mi) S from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.0	13 hrs later Oct 22, 2024 01:47 (Jayapura Time)	47 km (29 mi) NE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.5	16 hrs later Oct 22, 2024 04:22 (Jayapura Time)	3 km (2.1 mi) SSE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.5	19 hrs later Oct 22, 2024 07:33 (Jayapura Time)	17 km (10 mi) N from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.8	1 day later Oct 22, 2024 14:12 (Jayapura Time)	19 km (12 mi) WNW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.3	1 day later Oct 22, 2024 18:30 (Jayapura Time)	33 km (20 mi) N from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.6	1 day later Oct 22, 2024 18:44 (Jayapura Time)	19 km (12 mi) N from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.9	1 day later Oct 22, 2024 21:48 (Jayapura Time)	13 km (8 mi) NNW 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 September 11th, 2023, when a 6 magnitude earthquake hit 255 km (159 mi) further north. An even stronger magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck on July 14th, 2019.

In total, 17 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.8 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 7 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 5.8. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 16 km (10 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 22/10/24 18:48 (). 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.