On Thursday Afternoon a Significant M5.2 AFTERSHOCK struck in the Maluku Sea 183km from Manado (Indonesia).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on April 2nd, 2026. Last updated April 19th, 2026.

In the Maluku Sea 183 kilometer from Manado, Indonesia, a significant M5.2 aftershock occurred in the late afternoon of Thursday April 2nd, 2026.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Maluku Sea, 103 kilometers (64 mi) off the coast of Indonesia, 183 kilometer east of Manado in North Sulawesi. 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:	Apr 2, 2026 16:04 (Jayapura Time) - Apr 2, 2026 07:04 Universal Time.
Location:	183 km east of Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Coordinates 1°16'31"N 126°28'43"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.2 Detected by 144 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.048 .
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 . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Ternate in North Maluku, Indonesia. Ternate is located 114 kilometer (71 mi) northwest of the epicenter.

A complete list of nearby places is included below.

Overview of nearby places

This is likely an aftershock

Approximately 8 hrs before this earthquake hit, a larger 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck 27 km (17 mi) southwest of this one. For that reason, we classify the Mag. 5.2 earthquake as an aftershock.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Earthquakes can create aftershocks. These are generally at least 1 magnitude lower than any main shock, and as time passes the chance and strength of aftershocks decreases.

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. In total, 147 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 25 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

Sources

Last updated 19/04/26 00:58 (). 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.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000slyf
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260402_0000203
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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