A shallow and significant MAG-5.3 earthquake struck in the Indian Ocean 176 kilometer from Sibolga, Indonesia in the afternoon of Wednesday May 7th, 2025.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Indian Ocean, right off the coast of Indonesia (3 mi offshore), 176 kilometer west-southwest of Sibolga in North Sumatra. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 18 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | May 7, 2025 14:09 (Jakarta Time) - May 7, 2025 07:09 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 176 km WSW of Sibolga, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Coordinates 0°55'54"N 97°25'3"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.3 Detected by 82 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.064 . |
| Depth: | 18 km (11 mi) A very 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 156 kilometer (97 mi) south-southwest of the epicenter of this earthquake, Singkil (Aceh, Indonesia) is the nearest significant population center.
Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Pematangsiantar is located 291 km to the north-east. Padangsidempuan is located 212 km to the east-northeast. Rantauprapat is located 298 km to the east-northeast.
A complete list of nearby places is included below.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 156 km (97 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Singkil Aceh, Indonesia. |
| 176 km (109 mi) ENE from epicenter |
Sibolga North Sumatra, Indonesia. |
| 212 km (132 mi) ENE from epicenter |
Padangsidempuan North Sumatra, Indonesia. |
| 251 km (156 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Tongging North Sumatra, Indonesia. |
| 269 km (167 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Kabanjahe North Sumatra, Indonesia. |
| 279 km (173 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Berastagi North Sumatra, Indonesia. |
| 288 km (179 mi) ENE from epicenter |
Bandar North Sumatra, Indonesia. |
| 291 km (181 mi) NE from epicenter |
Pematangsiantar North Sumatra, Indonesia. |
| 298 km (185 mi) ENE from epicenter |
Rantauprapat North Sumatra, Indonesia. |
2 Aftershocks detected
After this earthquake struck, 2 smaller aftershocks occurred. A 3.5 magnitude earthquake hit 7 hrs later 15 km (9 mi) south of this earthquake.
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.3 |
May 7, 2025 14:09 (Jakarta Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 3.5 |
7 hrs later May 7, 2025 20:58 (Jakarta Time) | 15 km (9 mi) S from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.0 |
15 hrs later May 8, 2025 04:43 (Jakarta Time) | 16 km (10 mi) S 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.
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 happen often in the region
Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since April 7th, 2025, when a 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit 143 km (89 mi) further north-northwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck on April 24th, 2023.
In total, 40 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 3 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 18 km (11 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 17/05/25 07:58 (). This article contains currently available information about the earthquake and is automatically composed. We continue to update this article up to a few days after the earthquake occurred.
- US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000pxne
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250507_0000074
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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