A significant Magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck in the Maluku Sea 254 kilometer from Manado, Indonesia in the night of Wednesday February 26th, 2025.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Maluku Sea, 89 kilometers (56 mi) off the coast of Indonesia, 254 kilometer north-east of Manado in North Sulawesi. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 56 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Feb 26, 2025 02:13 (Makassar Time) - Feb 25, 2025 18:13 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 254 km NE of Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Coordinates 2°58'4"N 126°35'15"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.1 Detected by 143 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.048 . |
| Depth: | 56 km (35 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 Manado in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Manado is located 254 kilometer (158 mi) north-east of the epicenter.
An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 254 km (158 mi) SW from epicenter |
Manado North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
| 258 km (160 mi) SSE from epicenter |
Ternate North Maluku, Indonesia. |
| 262 km (163 mi) SW from epicenter |
Tondano North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
| 270 km (168 mi) SW from epicenter |
Tomohon North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
| 271 km (168 mi) SSE from epicenter |
Sofifi North Maluku, Indonesia. |
2 Aftershocks detected
After this earthquake struck, 2 smaller aftershocks occurred. A 3.8 magnitude earthquake hit 2 hrs later 2.5 km (1.6 mi) east of this earthquake.
Before this earthquake struck, 3 smaller foreshocks occurred. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 2 days earlier. It measured a magnitude of 3.6
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreshock | M 3.4 |
3 days earlier Feb 23, 2025 05:41 (Makassar Time) | 9 km (6 mi) WNW from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 3.6 |
2 days earlier Feb 23, 2025 22:14 (Makassar Time) | 95 km (59 mi) NE from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 3.1 |
2 days earlier Feb 24, 2025 02:11 (Makassar Time) | 80 km (49 mi) SW from Main Shock. |
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.1 |
Feb 26, 2025 02:13 (Makassar Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 3.6 |
54 mins later Feb 26, 2025 03:07 (Makassar Time) | 4 km (2.7 mi) NE from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.8 |
2 hrs later Feb 26, 2025 03:44 (Makassar Time) | 2.5 km (1.6 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.
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 February 6th, 2025, when a 5.4 magnitude earthquake hit 167 km (104 mi) further north. An even stronger magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck on November 14th, 2019.
In total, 230 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 16 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 5.1. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 56 km (35 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 25/02/25 22:18 (). As more information on this earthquake becomes available this article will be updated. This article is automatically composed based on data originating from multiple sources.
- US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000pvex
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250225_0000236
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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