In the Maluku Sea 127 kilometer from Ternate, Indonesia, a significant M5.2 earthquake occurred in the night of Wednesday November 5th, 2025.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Maluku Sea, 69 kilometers (43 mi) off the coast of Indonesia, 127 kilometer north-northwest of Ternate in North Maluku. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 64 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Nov 5, 2025 00:58 (Jayapura Time) - Nov 4, 2025 15:58 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 127 km NNW of Ternate, North Maluku, Indonesia. Coordinates 1°50'51"N 126°57'28"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.2 Detected by 9 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.103 . |
| Depth: | 64 km (40 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 127 kilometer (79 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 |
|---|---|
| 127 km (79 mi) SSE from epicenter |
Ternate North Maluku, Indonesia. |
| 140 km (87 mi) SSE from epicenter |
Sofifi North Maluku, Indonesia. |
| 235 km (146 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Tondano North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
| 238 km (148 mi) W from epicenter |
Manado North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
| 247 km (153 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Tomohon North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
3 Aftershocks detected
Since this main shock, 3 smaller aftershocks were detected. At a distance of 75 km (47 mi) north of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 2 days later. It measured a magnitude of 3.8
This main shock was prefaced by 1 smaller foreshock. Roughly 1 day before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-3.1 was detected nearby this earthquake.
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreshock | M 3.1 |
1 day earlier Nov 3, 2025 19:36 (Jayapura Time) | 44 km (27 mi) E from Main Shock. |
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.2 |
Nov 5, 2025 00:58 (Jayapura Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 2.7 |
1 day later Nov 6, 2025 03:23 (Jayapura Time) | 21 km (13 mi) NE from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 2.8 |
2 days later Nov 6, 2025 13:38 (Jayapura Time) | 96 km (59 mi) SW from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.8 |
2 days later Nov 6, 2025 21:16 (Jayapura Time) | 75 km (47 mi) N 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.
It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.
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 August 17th, 2025, when a 5.5 magnitude earthquake hit 29 km (18 mi) further north-northeast. An even stronger magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck on July 14th, 2019.
In total, 141 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.2 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 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 5.2. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 64 km (40 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 08/11/25 15:28 (). 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 us6000rlev
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20251104_0000358
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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