A significant Magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck under land 135 kilometer from Jayapura in Indonesia in the evening of Monday January 13th, 2025.
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Earthquake Summary
The earthquake struck on land in Indonesia, 135 kilometer (84 mi) west-southwest of Jayapura in Papua. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 34 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Jan 13, 2025 21:54 (Jayapura Time) - Jan 13, 2025 12:54 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 135 km WSW of Jayapura, Papua, Indonesia. Coordinates 2°47'21"S 139°31'36"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.1 Detected by 50 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.081 . |
| Depth: | 34 km (21 mi) A quite shallow depth. |
| Tsunami Risk: | Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake, it appears to have occurred under land with a magnitude not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here. |
Nearby towns and cities
This earthquake may have been felt in Indonesia . Abepura in Papua, Indonesia is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 125 kilometer (78 mi) west of Abepura.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 125 km (78 mi) E from epicenter |
Abepura Papua, Indonesia. |
| 135 km (84 mi) ENE from epicenter |
Jayapura Papua, Indonesia. |
Aftershocks detected
After this earthquake struck, 1 smaller aftershock occurred. At a distance of 96 km (60 mi) east of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 2 days later. It measured a magnitude of 3.7
In the days before this main shock, 2 smaller foreshocks were detected. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 10 hrs earlier. It measured a magnitude of 4.7
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreshock | M 2.9 |
23 hrs earlier Jan 12, 2025 23:10 (Jayapura Time) | 90 km (56 mi) ENE from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 4.7 |
10 hrs earlier Jan 13, 2025 12:10 (Jayapura Time) | 75 km (47 mi) WNW from Main Shock. |
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.1 |
Jan 13, 2025 21:54 (Jayapura Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 3.7 |
2 days later Jan 15, 2025 14:54 (Jayapura Time) | 96 km (60 mi) E 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.
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 21st, 2024, when a 5.2 magnitude earthquake hit 81 km (51 mi) further northwest. An even stronger magnitude 7 earthquake struck on July 27th, 2015.
In total, 75 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 2 months.
Tsunami very unlikely
While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit under land. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk of a tsunami even less likely. However always 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 | Not this earthquake. This earthquake appears to have struck on land far from any coast. |
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 34 km (21 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 15/01/25 07:58 (). 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 us6000pjp8
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250113_0000136
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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