Shallow M5.6 Earthquake hit in the Indian Ocean 197km from Labuan Bajo (Indonesia) on Monday Evening.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on March 31st, 2025. Last updated April 3rd, 2025.

A shallow and significant Magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck in the Indian Ocean 197 kilometer from Labuan Bajo, Indonesia just before midnight of Monday March 31st, 2025. Around 3.1 million people have been exposed to shaking.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Indian Ocean, 37 kilometers (23 mi) off the coast of Indonesia, 197 kilometer south-southwest of Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 29 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Mar 31, 2025 23:54 (Makassar Time) 3 days ago - Mar 31, 2025 15:54 Universal Time.
Location:	197 km SSW of Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Coordinates 10°3'9"S 119°2'6"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.6 Detected by 24 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.063 .
Depth:	29 km (18 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 3.1 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 3.1 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is IV, which corresponds with light shaking and likely no damage. Roughly 487,300 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 1.7 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
820,000	II	Very weak	None
1,746,000	III	Weak	Probably none
487,300	IV	Light	Likely none
0	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 . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Waingapu in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Waingapu is located 142 kilometer (88 mi) west-southwest of the epicenter. The intensity of shaking and damage in Waingapu is estimated to be around level III on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (weak shaking, probably no damage).

A complete list of nearby places is included below. Estimated intensity data (MMI) sourced from a shake-map published by the US Geographic Survey is shown where available (cities without data probably experienced little impact).

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
142 km (88 mi) ENE from epicenter	Waingapu East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia.	III Weak
180 km (112 mi) N from epicenter	Bima West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia.	III Weak
180 km (112 mi) NNW from epicenter	Dompu West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia.	III Weak
197 km (122 mi) NNE from epicenter	Labuan Bajo East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia.	III Weak
224 km (139 mi) NE from epicenter	Ruteng East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia.	III Weak
248 km (154 mi) NW from epicenter	Sumbawa Besar West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia.	III Weak

Earthquake Intensity Map

The graph below overlays a map of the region around the epicenter with earthquake intensity data provided by the US Geographic Survey. The highest intensity level detected for this earthquake is IV.

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:

Ruteng, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia: 2 people.
Waingapu, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia: 1 person.

2 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 2 smaller aftershocks occurred. Just 1 day after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-3.9 was detected 7 km (4 mi) north-northeast of this earthquake.

This main shock was prefaced by 2 smaller foreshocks. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 10 hrs earlier. It measured a magnitude of 4.5

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
Foreshock	M 2.5	15 hrs earlier Mar 31, 2025 09:22 (Makassar Time)	97 km (60 mi) NNE from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 4.5	10 hrs earlier Mar 31, 2025 13:38 (Makassar Time)	53 km (33 mi) N from Main Shock.
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 5.6	Mar 31, 2025 23:54 (Makassar Time)	-
Aftershock	M 3.9	1 day later Apr 2, 2025 07:56 (Makassar Time)	7 km (4 mi) NNE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.5	2 days later Apr 2, 2025 18:42 (Makassar Time)	92 km (57 mi) N 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).

This is the strongest earthquake in 3 years

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since February 21st, 2022, when a 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit 269 km (167 mi) further north-east. An even stronger magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck on January 22nd, 2019.

In total, 8 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.6 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 year.

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 5.6. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 29 km (18 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 03/04/25 15:28 (18 hours ago). 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.