On Thursday Evening a Significant M5.8 AFTERSHOCK struck in the Maluku Sea 172km from Manado (Indonesia).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on April 2nd, 2026. Last updated April 18th, 2026.

Just before midnight of Thursday April 2nd, 2026, a significant Magnitude 5.8 aftershock hit in the Maluku Sea 172 kilometer from Manado, Indonesia. Around 2.6 million people have been exposed to shaking.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Maluku Sea, 114 kilometers (71 mi) off the coast of Indonesia, 172 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 23:34 (Jayapura Time) - Apr 2, 2026 14:34 Universal Time.
Location:	172 km east of Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Coordinates 1°12'13"N 126°22'25"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.8 Detected by 8 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.11 .
Depth:	35 km (22 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 90% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 90% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact.

Roughly 2.6 million people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 2.6 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is IV, which corresponds with light shaking and likely no damage. Roughly 12,830 people are expected to be exposed to this level. The majority of people (roughly 2.6 million) live in an area exposed to level III, where weak shaking and probably no damage is expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Indonesia .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
50,560	II	Very weak	None
2,553,000	III	Weak	Probably none
12,830	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 . Located 121 kilometer (75 mi) west of the epicenter of this earthquake, Ternate (North Maluku, Indonesia) is the nearest significant population center. The intensity of shaking and damage in Ternate is estimated to be around level III on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (weak shaking, probably no damage).

Major cities near this earthquake: Manado is located 172 km to the west and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage). Ternate is located 121 km to the east and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage). Gorontalo is located 375 km to the west (intensity unknown, possibly low).

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below. If places don't have intensity data available, it likely means the experienced impact in those places was fairly small.

Overview of nearby places

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 V.

This is likely an aftershock

This earthquake is likely an aftershock of the MAG-7.4 earthquake that struck 16 hrs earlier. That main earthquake hit 13 km (8 mi) southwest of the epicenter of this MAG-5.8 aftershock.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

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.

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, 43 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.8 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 3 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

Sources

Last updated 18/04/26 16:28 (). 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 us6000sm21
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260402_0000422
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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