Shallow M5.1 AFTERSHOCK struck on Tuesday Afternoon near Palu in Indonesia.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on June 16th, 2026. Last updated June 20th, 2026.

Around noon of Tuesday June 16th, 2026, a shallow and significant MAG-5.1 aftershock hit under land 49 kilometer from Palu in Indonesia.

Felt the earthquake? Share this article:

Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Indonesia, 49 kilometer (30 mi) south-east of Palu in Central Sulawesi. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Jun 16, 2026 12:14 (Makassar Time) - Jun 16, 2026 04:14 Universal Time.
Location:	49 km SE of Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Coordinates 1°10'29"S 120°13'33"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.1 Detected by 50 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.081 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake, it appears to have occurred under land with a magnitude not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Indonesia . Located 49 kilometer (30 mi) south-east of the epicenter of this earthquake, Palu (Central Sulawesi, Indonesia) is the nearest significant population center.

A complete list of nearby places is included below.

Overview of nearby places

This is likely an aftershock

Approximately 46 mins before this earthquake hit, a larger 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck 7 km (4 mi) northwest of this one. For that reason, we classify the Mag. 5.1 earthquake as an 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.

Earthquakes like this happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. In total, 60 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.1 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.

Tsunami very unlikely

While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit under land. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk of a tsunami even less likely. However always stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Sources

Last updated 20/06/26 04:18 (). 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 us7000sta1
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260616_0000091
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

Share this article: