On Monday Night a Strong M6.2 Earthquake struck in the Sawu Sea near Kefamenanu (Indonesia).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on October 26th, 2025. Last updated December 4th, 2025.

A strong MAG-6.2 earthquake struck in the Sawu Sea 85 kilometer from Kefamenanu, Indonesia in the night of Monday October 27th, 2025. Roughly 4.1 million people may have felt this earthquake. Another nearby country is Timor-Leste.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Sawu Sea, 34 kilometers (21 mi) off the coast of Indonesia, 85 kilometer northwest of Kefamenanu in East Nusa Tenggara. The center of this earthquake had an intermediate depth of 75 km.

Date and Time:	Oct 27, 2025 01:04 (Makassar Time) - Oct 26, 2025 17:04 Universal Time.
Location:	85 km NW of Kefamenanu, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Coordinates 8°51'9"S 123°59'19"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.2 Detected by 72 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.037 .
Depth:	75 km (47 mi) An intermediate depth.
Max. Intensity:	VI Strong 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 4.1 million people exposed to shaking

An estimated 4.1 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.

Moderate shaking and very light damage may have been experienced by an estimated 33,200 people. At V, it is the highest MMI level this earthquake has caused. The majority of people (roughly 3 million) live in an area exposed to level IV, where light shaking and likely no damage is expected.

People in 2 countries have been exposed to shaking. In Indonesia , around 3 million people, with impact levels up to V (moderate shaking, very light damage). Roughly 1.2 million people were exposed to shaking in Timor-Leste .

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake struck within proximity of multiple countries. Indonesia and Timor-Leste are both within 300km distance of its epicenter.

Kefamenanu in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 85 kilometer (53 mi) northwest of Kefamenanu. The intensity of shaking and damage in Kefamenanu is estimated to be around level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (light shaking, likely no damage).

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below. If places don't have intensity data available, it likely means the experienced impact in those places was fairly small.

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The maximum intensity (MMI Scale) caused by this earthquake is V. The map below shows in which areas this earthquake was the most and least impactful. It is based on data from the US Geographic Survey.

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 10 people in 3 countries

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 10 people have reported shaking in 4 places in 3 countries (Indonesia, East Timor, Australia).We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Dili, Dili, East Timor: 7 people.
• Kupang, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia: 1 person.
• Coonawarra, Northern Territory, Australia: 1 person.
• Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia: 1 person.

18 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 18 smaller aftershocks. At a distance of 15 km (9 mi) south-southwest of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 30 mins later. It measured a magnitude of 4.6

This main shock was prefaced by 6 smaller foreshocks. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 3 days earlier. It measured a magnitude of 5.1

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

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.

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 the strongest earthquake in 4 years

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since December 14th, 2021, when a 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit 238 km (148 mi) further northwest. That was also the heaviest earthquake to hit the region in the past 10 years.

In total, 6 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.2 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 2 years.

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

Sources

Last updated 04/12/25 22:08 (). 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.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000rjkv
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20251026_0000214
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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