A shallow and significant MAG-5.1 earthquake struck in the Banda Sea 184 kilometer from Tual, Indonesia in the night of Saturday December 21st, 2024.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Banda Sea, right off the coast of Indonesia (9 mi offshore), 184 kilometer southwest of Tual in Maluku. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Dec 21, 2024 04:26 (Jayapura Time) - Dec 20, 2024 19:26 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 184 km SW of Tual, Maluku, Indonesia. Coordinates 6°58'37"S 131°47'12"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.1 Detected by 19 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.071 . |
| Depth: | 10 km (6 mi) A very 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 . Located 184 kilometer (114 mi) southwest of the epicenter of this earthquake, Tual (Maluku, Indonesia) is the nearest significant population center.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 184 km (114 mi) NE from epicenter |
Tual Maluku, Indonesia. |
Aftershocks detected
Since this main shock, 1 smaller aftershock was detected. A 4.2 magnitude earthquake hit 18 hrs later 14 km (9 mi) east-southeast of this earthquake.
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.1 |
Dec 21, 2024 04:26 (Jayapura Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 4.2 |
18 hrs later Dec 21, 2024 22:04 (Jayapura Time) | 14 km (9 mi) ESE 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 December 17th, 2024, when a 5.2 magnitude earthquake hit 172 km (107 mi) further west. An even stronger magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck on January 9th, 2023.
In total, 90 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.1 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
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 5.1. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 10 km (6 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 21/12/24 14:38 (). 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 us7000p0ge
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20241220_0000260
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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