A significant Magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck in the Banda Sea 66 kilometer from Amahai, Indonesia deep in the night of Monday March 3rd, 2025.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Banda Sea, right off the coast of Indonesia (3 mi offshore), 66 kilometer east-southeast of Amahai in Maluku. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 43 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Mar 3, 2025 03:42 (Jayapura Time) - Mar 2, 2025 18:42 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 66 km ESE of Amahai, Maluku, Indonesia. Coordinates 3°30'35"S 129°29'16"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.3 Detected by 17 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.075 . |
| Depth: | 43 km (27 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 . Located 66 kilometer (41 mi) east-southeast of the epicenter of this earthquake, Amahai (Maluku, Indonesia) is the nearest significant population center.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 66 km (41 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Amahai Maluku, Indonesia. |
| 146 km (91 mi) W from epicenter |
Ambon Maluku, Indonesia. |
Aftershocks detected
This main shock was followed by 1 smaller aftershock. A 4.6 magnitude earthquake hit 2 hrs later 1.1 km (0.7 mi) north-northwest of this earthquake.
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.3 |
Mar 3, 2025 03:42 (Jayapura Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 4.6 |
2 hrs later Mar 3, 2025 05:24 (Jayapura Time) | 1.1 km (0.7 mi) NNW 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 February 18th, 2025, when a 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit 173 km (108 mi) further east. An even stronger magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck on December 9th, 2015.
In total, 51 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.3 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.
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 5.3. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 43 km (27 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 04/03/25 03:58 (). 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 us6000pwh1
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250302_0000174
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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