In the morning of Saturday December 6th, 2025, a significant Magnitude 5.1 earthquake hit in the Maluku Sea 95 kilometer from Ternate, Indonesia.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Maluku Sea, 30 kilometers (19 mi) off the coast of Indonesia, 95 kilometer north of Ternate in North Maluku. The center of this earthquake had an intermediate depth of 129 km.
| Date and Time: | Dec 6, 2025 09:44 (Jayapura Time) - Dec 6, 2025 00:44 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 95 km north of Ternate, North Maluku, Indonesia. Coordinates 1°38'10"N 127°16'24"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.1 Detected by 108 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.055 . |
| Depth: | 129 km (80 mi) An intermediate depth. |
| Tsunami Risk: | Tsunami very unlikely Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 at depths deeper than 100km are very unlikely to 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 95 kilometer (59 mi) north of Ternate.
A complete list of nearby places is included below.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 95 km (59 mi) S from epicenter |
Ternate North Maluku, Indonesia. |
| 105 km (65 mi) SSE from epicenter |
Sofifi North Maluku, Indonesia. |
| 265 km (165 mi) W from epicenter |
Tondano North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
| 270 km (168 mi) W from epicenter |
Manado North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
| 277 km (172 mi) W from epicenter |
Tomohon North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
Aftershocks detected
After this earthquake struck, 1 smaller aftershock occurred. Just 17 hrs after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-3.1 was detected 9 km (6 mi) north-east of this earthquake.
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.1 |
Dec 6, 2025 09:44 (Jayapura Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 3.1 |
17 hrs later Dec 7, 2025 02:41 (Jayapura Time) | 9 km (6 mi) NE from Main Shock. |
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.
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 November 23rd, 2025, when a 5.4 magnitude earthquake hit 150 km (93 mi) further east-southeast. An even stronger magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck on July 14th, 2019.
In total, 195 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.1 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 19 days.
Tsunami very unlikely
For a serious tsunami to occur, earthquakes usually need to have a magnitude of at least 6.5 and occur at a shallow depth of maximum 100km. Neither are the case with this earthquake. However always 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 5.1. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
Not this earthquake. This earthquake occurred at a depth of 129 km (80 mi). Earthquakes this deep in the earth are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 07/12/25 08:48 (). This article contains currently available information about the earthquake and is automatically composed. We continue to update this article up to a few days after the earthquake occurred.
- US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000rsuv
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20251206_0000009
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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