In the Maluku Sea 189 kilometer from Manado, Indonesia, a significant M5.2 earthquake occurred in the night of Sunday December 15th, 2024.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Maluku Sea, 105 kilometers (65 mi) off the coast of Indonesia, 189 kilometer east of Manado in North Sulawesi. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 33 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Dec 15, 2024 02:38 (Jayapura Time) - Dec 14, 2024 17:38 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 189 km east of Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Coordinates 1°36'46"N 126°32'40"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.2 Detected by 11 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.093 . |
| Depth: | 33 km (21 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 131 kilometer (81 mi) 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 |
|---|---|
| 131 km (81 mi) SE from epicenter |
Ternate North Maluku, Indonesia. |
| 149 km (93 mi) SE from epicenter |
Sofifi North Maluku, Indonesia. |
| 185 km (115 mi) W from epicenter |
Tondano North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
| 189 km (117 mi) W from epicenter |
Manado North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
| 196 km (122 mi) W from epicenter |
Tomohon North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
Shaking reported by 1 person
People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 1 person has reported shaking in one place in Indonesia.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.
Places with most reports:
- Ternate, Maluku Utara, Indonesia: 1 person.
Aftershocks detected
This main shock was prefaced by 1 smaller foreshock. Roughly 2 days before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-3.8 was detected nearby this earthquake.
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreshock | M 3.8 |
2 days earlier Dec 13, 2024 06:33 (Jayapura Time) | 83 km (52 mi) NE from Main Shock. |
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.2 |
Dec 15, 2024 02:38 (Jayapura Time) | - |
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 November 1st, 2024, when a 5.4 magnitude earthquake hit 252 km (157 mi) further south-southwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck on July 14th, 2019.
In total, 151 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 24 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 33 km (21 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 20/12/24 17:58 (). 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 us7000nyw2
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20241214_0000172
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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