On Sunday Evening a Significant M5.6 Earthquake struck in the Maluku Sea 160km from Manado (Indonesia).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on December 21st, 2025. Last updated January 7th, 2026.

A significant Magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck in the Maluku Sea 160 kilometer from Manado, Indonesia in the evening of Sunday December 21st, 2025. Shaking may have been felt by a total of 2.6 million people.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Maluku Sea, 116 kilometers (72 mi) off the coast of Indonesia, 160 kilometer east of Manado in North Sulawesi. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 55 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Dec 21, 2025 21:21 (Jayapura Time) - Dec 21, 2025 12:21 Universal Time.
Location:	160 km east of Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Coordinates 1°27'56"N 126°17'18"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.6 Detected by 148 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.049 .
Depth:	55 km (34 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	V Moderate 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 2.6 million people exposed to shaking

An estimated 2.6 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.

Weak shaking and probably no damage may have been experienced by an estimated 2,468,000 people. At III, it is the highest MMI level this earthquake has caused. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Indonesia .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
159,100	II	Very weak	None
2,468,000	III	Weak	Probably none
0	IV	Light	Likely none
0	V	Moderate	Very light
0	VI	Strong	Light
0	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

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 143 kilometer (89 mi) west-northwest of the epicenter. Ternate experienced an earthquake intensity (MMI Scale) of roughly III. That level implies weak shaking and probably no damage.

A complete list of nearby places is included below. Estimated intensity data (MMI) sourced from a shake-map published by the US Geographic Survey is shown where available (cities without data probably experienced little impact).

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
143 km (89 mi) ESE from epicenter	Ternate North Maluku, Indonesia.	III Weak
154 km (96 mi) W from epicenter	Tondano North Sulawesi, Indonesia.	III Weak
160 km (99 mi) W from epicenter	Manado North Sulawesi, Indonesia.	III Weak
163 km (101 mi) ESE from epicenter	Sofifi North Maluku, Indonesia.	III Weak
166 km (103 mi) W from epicenter	Tomohon North Sulawesi, Indonesia.	III Weak

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is IV.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

Shaking reported by 1 person

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 1 person has 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:

Bitung, Sulawesi Utara, Indonesia: 1 person.

4 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 4 smaller aftershocks occurred. At a distance of 50 km (31 mi) west-southwest of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 1 day later. It measured a magnitude of 4.1

In the days before this main shock, 4 smaller foreshocks were detected. Roughly 1 day before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-3.8 was detected nearby this earthquake.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.
Classification	Magnitude	When	Where
Foreshock	M 3.8	1 day earlier Dec 20, 2025 19:40 (Jayapura Time)	96 km (60 mi) E from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 3.2	1 day earlier Dec 20, 2025 20:40 (Jayapura Time)	47 km (29 mi) W from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 2.6	22 hrs earlier Dec 20, 2025 23:29 (Jayapura Time)	30 km (18 mi) SE from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 2.8	9 hrs earlier Dec 21, 2025 12:17 (Jayapura Time)	45 km (28 mi) S from Main Shock.
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 5.6	Dec 21, 2025 21:21 (Jayapura Time)	-
Aftershock	M 3.0	17 mins later Dec 21, 2025 21:38 (Jayapura Time)	9 km (6 mi) SE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.4	22 hrs later Dec 22, 2025 19:05 (Jayapura Time)	5 km (2.9 mi) E from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.1	1 day later Dec 23, 2025 03:48 (Jayapura Time)	50 km (31 mi) WSW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.0	2 days later Dec 23, 2025 14:35 (Jayapura Time)	87 km (54 mi) ESE 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.

The chance that a significant earthquake like this one is followed by an even larger earthquake is not so large. On average, scientists estimate a 94% chance that a major earthquake will not be followed by an even larger one. It is still adviced to be aware of this risk

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 July 25th, 2025, when a 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit 90 km (56 mi) further north-east. An even stronger magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck on July 14th, 2019.

In total, 50 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.6 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

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

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 5.6. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 55 km (34 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 07/01/26 13:48 (). 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.