Significant M5.4 Earthquake struck on Saturday Night in the Maluku Sea 251km from Manado (Indonesia).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on November 1st, 2024. Last updated November 18th, 2024.

In the night of Saturday November 2nd, 2024, a significant Magnitude 5.4 earthquake hit in the Maluku Sea 251 kilometer from Manado, Indonesia. Roughly 1.6 million people may have felt this earthquake.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Maluku Sea, 139 kilometers (87 mi) off the coast of Indonesia, 251 kilometer south-southeast of Manado in North Sulawesi. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 37 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Nov 2, 2024 02:19 (Jayapura Time) - Nov 1, 2024 17:19 Universal Time.
Location:	251 km SSE of Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Coordinates 0°32'12"N 125°51'17"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.4 Detected by 214 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.04 .
Depth:	37 km (23 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	IV Light 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 1.6 million people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 1.6 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

An estimated 1,228,000 people were exposed to level III. At this level, 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
335,000	II	Very weak	None
1,228,000	III	Weak	Probably none
0	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 . Ternate in North Maluku, Indonesia is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 225 kilometer (140 mi) southwest of Ternate. Ternate experienced an earthquake intensity (MMI Scale) of roughly III. That level implies weak shaking and probably no damage.

A complete list of nearby places is included below. Estimated intensity data (MMI) sourced from a shake-map published by the US Geographic Survey is shown where available (cities without data probably experienced little impact).

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
225 km (140 mi) NE from epicenter	Ternate North Maluku, Indonesia.	III Weak
230 km (143 mi) NNW from epicenter	Tondano North Sulawesi, Indonesia.
237 km (147 mi) NE from epicenter	Sofifi North Maluku, Indonesia.	III Weak
237 km (147 mi) NNW from epicenter	Tomohon North Sulawesi, Indonesia.
251 km (156 mi) NNW from epicenter	Manado North Sulawesi, 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.

Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 1 smaller aftershock. Just 23 hrs after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-3.2 was detected 97 km (60 mi) east-southeast 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 5.4	Nov 2, 2024 02:19 (Jayapura Time)	-
Aftershock	M 3.2	23 hrs later Nov 3, 2024 00:52 (Jayapura Time)	97 km (60 mi) ESE 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.

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 October 21st, 2024, when a 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit 185 km (115 mi) further east-southeast. An even stronger magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck on July 14th, 2019.

In total, 86 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.4 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 month.

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 5.4. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 37 km (23 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 18/11/24 18:48 (). 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.