On Friday Afternoon a Significant M5.4 AFTERSHOCK struck in the Maluku Sea 181km from Manado (Indonesia).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on April 3rd, 2026. Last updated April 5th, 2026.

A significant M5.4 aftershock struck in the Maluku Sea 181 kilometer from Manado, Indonesia in the early afternoon of Friday April 3rd, 2026. Around 2.7 million people have been exposed to shaking.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Maluku Sea, 110 kilometers (68 mi) off the coast of Indonesia, 181 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 3, 2026 12:37 (Jayapura Time) - Apr 3, 2026 03:37 Universal Time.
Location:	181 km east of Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Coordinates 1°0'2"N 126°24'27"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.4 Detected by 88 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.062 .
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 2.7 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 2.7 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

An estimated 90 people were exposed to level IV. At this level, light shaking and likely no damage can be expected. The majority of people (roughly 2.4 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
330,500	II	Very weak	None
2,364,000	III	Weak	Probably none
90	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 111 kilometer (69 mi) west of the epicenter of this earthquake, Ternate (North Maluku, Indonesia) is the nearest significant population center. 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

Earthquake Intensity Map

The graph below overlays a map of the region around the epicenter with earthquake intensity data provided by the US Geographic Survey. The highest intensity level detected for this earthquake is IV.

This is likely an aftershock

This earthquake is likely an aftershock of the MAG-7.4 earthquake that struck 1 day earlier. That main earthquake hit 18 km (11 mi) northwest of the epicenter of this MAG-5.4 aftershock.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

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.

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. In total, 105 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.4 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 month.

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 05/04/26 15:58 (). 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.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000sm9y
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260403_0000107
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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