A significant MAG-5.3 earthquake struck in the Maluku Sea 219 kilometer from Ternate, Indonesia in the evening of Saturday June 28th, 2025.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Maluku Sea, 93 kilometers (58 mi) off the coast of Indonesia, 219 kilometer north of Ternate in North Maluku. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 53 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Jun 28, 2025 21:40 (Jayapura Time) - Jun 28, 2025 12:40 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 219 km north of Ternate, North Maluku, Indonesia. Coordinates 2°45'23"N 127°19'43"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.3 Detected by 236 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.038 . |
| Depth: | 53 km (33 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 . Ternate in North Maluku, Indonesia is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 219 kilometer (136 mi) north of Ternate.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 219 km (136 mi) S from epicenter |
Ternate North Maluku, Indonesia. |
| 226 km (140 mi) S from epicenter |
Sofifi North Maluku, Indonesia. |
2 Aftershocks detected
After this earthquake struck, 2 smaller aftershocks occurred. At a distance of 97 km (60 mi) south-southwest of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 7 hrs later. It measured a magnitude of 3.1
Before this earthquake struck, 2 smaller foreshocks occurred. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 50 mins earlier. It measured a magnitude of 4.5
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreshock | M 3.6 |
1 day earlier Jun 27, 2025 12:00 (Jayapura Time) | 32 km (20 mi) S from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 4.5 |
50 mins earlier Jun 28, 2025 20:50 (Jayapura Time) | 44 km (27 mi) SSW from Main Shock. |
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.3 |
Jun 28, 2025 21:40 (Jayapura Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 2.8 |
5 hrs later Jun 29, 2025 02:50 (Jayapura Time) | 10 km (6 mi) ENE from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.1 |
7 hrs later Jun 29, 2025 04:46 (Jayapura Time) | 97 km (60 mi) SSW 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 22nd, 2025, when a 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit 207 km (129 mi) further north-northeast. An even stronger magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck on November 14th, 2019.
In total, 143 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 26 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 5.3. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 53 km (33 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 18/07/25 15:08 (). 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 us7000q9d1
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250628_0000130
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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