In the night of Saturday May 24th, 2025, a significant MAG-5.0 earthquake hit in the Maluku Sea 213 kilometer from Manado, Indonesia.
Felt the earthquake? Share this article: 
Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Maluku Sea, 109 kilometers (67 mi) off the coast of Indonesia, 213 kilometer east-northeast of Manado in North Sulawesi. 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: | May 24, 2025 04:11 (Jayapura Time) - May 23, 2025 19:11 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 213 km ENE of Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Coordinates 2°6'15"N 126°39'44"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.0 Detected by 11 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.093 . |
| Depth: | 43 km (26 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 Ternate in North Maluku, Indonesia. Ternate is located 167 kilometer (104 mi) north-northwest of the epicenter.
The table below provides an overview of all places in proximity of today's earthquake.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 167 km (104 mi) SSE from epicenter |
Ternate North Maluku, Indonesia. |
| 182 km (113 mi) SE from epicenter |
Sofifi North Maluku, Indonesia. |
| 213 km (132 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Manado North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
| 214 km (133 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Tondano North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
| 224 km (139 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Tomohon North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
3 Aftershocks detected
After this earthquake struck, 3 smaller aftershocks occurred. At a distance of 94 km (58 mi) south-east of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 3 days later. It measured a magnitude of 4.3
In the days before this main shock, 10 smaller foreshocks were detected. A 4.3 magnitude earthquake hit 6 hrs earlier nearby.
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreshock | M 3.2 |
3 days earlier May 21, 2025 13:05 (Jayapura Time) | 20 km (12 mi) N from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 3.5 |
2 days earlier May 21, 2025 20:27 (Jayapura Time) | 17 km (10 mi) SE from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 3.3 |
2 days earlier May 21, 2025 20:47 (Jayapura Time) | 58 km (36 mi) S from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 3.4 |
1 day earlier May 22, 2025 17:38 (Jayapura Time) | 72 km (45 mi) WNW from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 2.8 |
1 day earlier May 23, 2025 00:52 (Jayapura Time) | 44 km (27 mi) NE from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 2.7 |
23 hrs earlier May 23, 2025 05:17 (Jayapura Time) | 76 km (47 mi) SSE from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 3.6 |
20 hrs earlier May 23, 2025 08:02 (Jayapura Time) | 64 km (40 mi) ESE from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 2.5 |
8 hrs earlier May 23, 2025 20:29 (Jayapura Time) | 67 km (42 mi) SE from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 4.3 |
6 hrs earlier May 23, 2025 22:19 (Jayapura Time) | 95 km (59 mi) ESE from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 2.9 |
3 hrs earlier May 24, 2025 01:26 (Jayapura Time) | 57 km (36 mi) SSW from Main Shock. |
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.0 |
May 24, 2025 04:11 (Jayapura Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 2.8 |
3 hrs later May 24, 2025 06:50 (Jayapura Time) | 42 km (26 mi) SSW from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.2 |
19 hrs later May 24, 2025 23:21 (Jayapura Time) | 58 km (36 mi) NNE from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 4.3 |
3 days later May 26, 2025 21:03 (Jayapura Time) | 94 km (58 mi) SE 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 May 12th, 2025, when a 5.1 magnitude earthquake hit 4 km (2.8 mi) further east-northeast. An even stronger magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck on November 14th, 2019.
In total, 408 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5 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 9 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. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 43 km (26 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 17/06/25 01:18 (). 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.
- US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000q16a
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250523_0000220
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
Share this article:
