Significant M5.8 Earthquake struck on Friday Evening in the Indian Ocean 187km from Medan (Indonesia).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on January 31st, 2025. Last updated February 4th, 2025.

A significant M5.8 earthquake struck in the Indian Ocean 187 kilometer from Medan, Indonesia in the evening of Friday January 31st, 2025. Around 10 million people have been exposed to shaking.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Indian Ocean, right off the coast of Indonesia (11 mi offshore), 187 kilometer west-southwest of Medan in North Sumatra. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 69 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Jan 31, 2025 18:03 (Jakarta Time) - Jan 31, 2025 11:03 Universal Time.
Location:	187 km WSW of Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Coordinates 3°10'36"N 97°2'2"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.8 Detected by 107 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.058 .
Depth:	69 km (43 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	V Moderate 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 10 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 10 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

An estimated 1,160 people were exposed to level V. At this level, moderate shaking and very light damage can be expected. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 9 million). In their region, 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
59,250	II	Very weak	None
8,686,000	III	Weak	Probably none
1,494,000	IV	Light	Likely none
1,160	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 . Located 130 kilometer (81 mi) northwest of the epicenter of this earthquake, Singkil (Aceh, Indonesia) is the nearest significant population center. The intensity of shaking and damage in Singkil is estimated to be around level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (light shaking, likely no damage).

Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Medan is located 187 km to the east-northeast and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage). Percut is located 209 km to the east-northeast (intensity unknown, possibly low). Binjai is located 168 km to the east-northeast and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage).

The table below provides an overview of all places in proximity of today's earthquake. Where available, the estimated intensity on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale in each place is included. Places where this information is omitted likely experienced little impact.

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
130 km (81 mi) SE from epicenter	Singkil Aceh, Indonesia.	IV Light
147 km (91 mi) NW from epicenter	Meulaboh Aceh, Indonesia.	IV Light
162 km (101 mi) E from epicenter	Kabanjahe North Sumatra, Indonesia.	III Weak
164 km (102 mi) E from epicenter	Berastagi North Sumatra, Indonesia.	III Weak
167 km (104 mi) NE from epicenter	Pangkalan Brandan North Sumatra, Indonesia.	IV Light
168 km (104 mi) E from epicenter	Tongging North Sumatra, Indonesia.	III Weak
168 km (104 mi) ENE from epicenter	Binjai North Sumatra, Indonesia.	IV Light
169 km (105 mi) ENE from epicenter	Stabat North Sumatra, Indonesia.	IV Light
177 km (110 mi) NE from epicenter	Langsa Aceh, Indonesia.	III Weak
178 km (111 mi) NE from epicenter	Tanjungtiram North Sumatra, Indonesia.	IV Light
181 km (112 mi) ENE from epicenter	Sunggal North Sumatra, Indonesia.	III Weak
187 km (116 mi) ENE from epicenter	Medan North Sumatra, Indonesia.	III Weak
187 km (116 mi) ENE from epicenter	Deli Tua North Sumatra, Indonesia.	III Weak
192 km (119 mi) ENE from epicenter	Labuhan Deli North Sumatra, Indonesia.	III Weak
195 km (121 mi) ENE from epicenter	Belawan North Sumatra, Indonesia.	III Weak
209 km (130 mi) ENE from epicenter	Percut North Sumatra, Indonesia.
218 km (135 mi) ENE from epicenter	Perbaungan North Sumatra, Indonesia.
223 km (139 mi) N from epicenter	Lhokseumawe Aceh, Indonesia.
227 km (141 mi) E from epicenter	Pematangsiantar North Sumatra, Indonesia.
228 km (142 mi) N from epicenter	Bireun Aceh, Indonesia.
237 km (147 mi) E from epicenter	Tebingtinggi North Sumatra, Indonesia.
238 km (148 mi) E from epicenter	Pekan Bahapal North Sumatra, Indonesia.
242 km (150 mi) NNW from epicenter	Reuleuet Aceh, Indonesia.
251 km (156 mi) SE from epicenter	Sibolga North Sumatra, Indonesia.	III Weak
273 km (170 mi) NNW from epicenter	Sigli Aceh, Indonesia.
287 km (178 mi) E from epicenter	Kisaran North Sumatra, Indonesia.
308 km (191 mi) E from epicenter	Tanjungbalai North Sumatra, Indonesia.
310 km (193 mi) E from epicenter	Teluk Nibung North Sumatra, Indonesia.
319 km (198 mi) SE from epicenter	Padangsidempuan North Sumatra, Indonesia.
324 km (201 mi) NW from epicenter	Banda Aceh Aceh, Indonesia.
327 km (203 mi) ESE from epicenter	Bandar North Sumatra, Indonesia.
333 km (207 mi) ESE from epicenter	Rantauprapat North Sumatra, Indonesia.
357 km (222 mi) NNW from epicenter	Sabang Aceh, Indonesia.

Earthquake Intensity Map

The maximum intensity (MMI Scale) caused by this earthquake is V. The map below shows in which areas this earthquake was the most and least impactful. It is based on data from the US Geographic Survey.

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.

Shaking reported by 3 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 3 people have reported shaking in 2 places 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:

Banda Aceh, Aceh, Indonesia: 2 people.
Medan, Sumatera Utara, Indonesia: 1 person.

7 Aftershocks detected

Since this main shock, 7 smaller aftershocks were detected. At a distance of 7 km (5 mi) west-southwest of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 14 mins later. It measured a magnitude of 3.8

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	Jan 31, 2025 18:03 (Jakarta Time)	-
Aftershock	M 3.8	14 mins later Jan 31, 2025 18:17 (Jakarta Time)	7 km (5 mi) WSW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.7	21 mins later Jan 31, 2025 18:24 (Jakarta Time)	14 km (9 mi) WSW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.7	1 day later Feb 1, 2025 21:11 (Jakarta Time)	23 km (14 mi) SW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.7	1 day later Feb 1, 2025 23:37 (Jakarta Time)	79 km (49 mi) ESE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.5	1 day later Feb 2, 2025 05:49 (Jakarta Time)	69 km (43 mi) SSW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.3	2 days later Feb 3, 2025 04:17 (Jakarta Time)	5 km (3 mi) WSW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.8	2 days later Feb 3, 2025 04:37 (Jakarta Time)	97 km (60 mi) NNE 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.

The chance that a significant earthquake like this one is followed by an even larger earthquake is not so large. On average, scientists estimate a 94% chance that a major earthquake will not be followed by an even larger one. It is still adviced to be aware of this risk

Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).

Earthquakes like this are common in the region

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since January 15th, 2023, when a 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit 170 km (106 mi) further south-east. An even stronger magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck on December 6th, 2016.

In total, 5 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 2 years.

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 69 km (43 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 04/02/25 00:08 (). 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.