A significant M5.2 earthquake struck in the Banda Sea 222 kilometer from Tual, Indonesia in the early afternoon of Sunday December 7th, 2025.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Banda Sea, 84 kilometers (52 mi) off the coast of Indonesia, 222 kilometer west-southwest of Tual in Maluku. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 35 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Dec 7, 2025 13:55 (Jayapura Time) - Dec 7, 2025 04:55 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 222 km WSW of Tual, Maluku, Indonesia. Coordinates 6°36'42"S 131°0'23"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.2 Detected by 54 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.078 . |
| Depth: | 35 km (22 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 . Tual in Maluku, Indonesia is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 222 kilometer (138 mi) west-southwest of Tual.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 222 km (138 mi) ENE from epicenter |
Tual Maluku, Indonesia. |
Aftershocks detected
After this earthquake struck, 1 smaller aftershock occurred. A 3.8 magnitude earthquake hit 4 hrs later 22 km (13 mi) west-northwest of this earthquake.
Before this earthquake struck, 6 smaller foreshocks occurred. Roughly 2 days before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-4.1 was detected nearby this earthquake.
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreshock | M 4.1 |
2 days earlier Dec 5, 2025 10:38 (Jayapura Time) | 78 km (48 mi) NW from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 4.0 |
2 days earlier Dec 5, 2025 19:11 (Jayapura Time) | 83 km (51 mi) NW from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 3.7 |
1 day earlier Dec 6, 2025 03:08 (Jayapura Time) | 87 km (54 mi) NNW from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 3.6 |
15 hrs earlier Dec 6, 2025 22:26 (Jayapura Time) | 63 km (39 mi) W from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 3.4 |
10 hrs earlier Dec 7, 2025 04:21 (Jayapura Time) | 93 km (58 mi) NW from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 4.0 |
2 hrs earlier Dec 7, 2025 12:06 (Jayapura Time) | 90 km (56 mi) WNW from Main Shock. |
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.2 |
Dec 7, 2025 13:55 (Jayapura Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 3.8 |
4 hrs later Dec 7, 2025 17:53 (Jayapura Time) | 22 km (13 mi) WNW 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.
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.
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 October 28th, 2025, when a 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit 113 km (70 mi) further west. An even stronger magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck on January 9th, 2023.
In total, 69 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 2 months.
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 35 km (22 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 07/12/25 15:58 (). 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.
- US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000rt26
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20251207_0000103
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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