Unusually powerful M6.5 Earthquake struck on Thursday Afternoon 194km from Abepura in Indonesia.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on October 16th, 2025. Last updated December 4th, 2025.

Under land 194 kilometer from Abepura in Indonesia, an unusually powerful M6.5 earthquake occurred in the afternoon of Thursday October 16th, 2025. The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Indonesia, 194 kilometer (121 mi) west-northwest of Abepura in Papua. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 33 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Oct 16, 2025 14:48 (Jayapura Time) - Oct 16, 2025 05:48 Universal Time.
Location:	194 km WNW of Abepura, Papua, Indonesia. Coordinates 2°9'32"S 138°56'15"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.5 Detected by 8 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.039 .
Depth:	33 km (21 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VII Very Strong On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Potential tsunami risk The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Potential tsunami risk

There is a potential tsunami risk in the aftermath of this earthquake, immediately evacuate to higher grounds away from coastal areas and monitor advice from local authorities. The US Geographic Survey organization has indicated a potential risk for tsunami's following this earthquake.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Minimal impact predicted

The US Geographic Survey (USGS) describes the impact of this earthquake as follows:

At least 20 homes destroyed and 50 buildings damaged in Sarmi.

Based on scientific estimates by the 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 100% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact.

Roughly 1.5 million people exposed to shaking

An estimated 1.5 million have been exposed to shaking (An MMI or Modified Mercalli Intensity level II or higher) as a result of this earthquake according scientific estimates published by the USGS.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is VII, which corresponds with very strong shaking and likely moderate damage. Roughly 400 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 1.1 million). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Indonesia .

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Indonesia . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Abepura in Papua, Indonesia. Abepura is located 194 kilometer (121 mi) west-northwest of the epicenter. The intensity of shaking and damage in Abepura is estimated to be around level III on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (weak shaking, probably no damage).

Overview of nearby places

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 VII.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Shaking reported by 2 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 2 people have reported shaking in one place 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:

• Aberpura, Papua, Indonesia: 2 people.

51 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 51 smaller aftershocks. Just 22 hrs after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-5.5 was detected 17 km (11 mi) east-southeast of this earthquake.

Before this earthquake struck, 4 smaller foreshocks occurred. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 4 hrs earlier. It measured a magnitude of 4.4

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

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.

In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major earthquake.

This is an unusually powerful earthquake

No earthquake of this strength has struck this region for a long time. Our data goes back 10 years, and no earthquakes measuring a magnitude of 6.5 or higher have been detected within 300 km (186 mi) of this epicenter.

Sources

Last updated 04/12/25 13:28 (). 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.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000rhg5
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20251016_0000084
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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