In the evening of Sunday July 12th, 2026, a significant M5.3 earthquake hit in the Sulawesi Sea 193 kilometer from Gorontalo, Indonesia.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Sulawesi Sea, right off the coast of Indonesia, 193 kilometer west of Gorontalo. 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: | Jul 12, 2026 21:46 (Makassar Time) - Jul 12, 2026 13:46 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 193 km west of Gorontalo, Indonesia. Coordinates 1°10'6"N 121°26'46"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.3 Detected by 147 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 Gorontalo in Gorontalo, Indonesia. Gorontalo is located 193 kilometer (120 mi) west of the epicenter.
An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 193 km (120 mi) E from epicenter |
Gorontalo Gorontalo, Indonesia. |
| 279 km (173 mi) SE from epicenter |
Luwuk Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
| 290 km (180 mi) SW from epicenter |
Palu Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
| 295 km (183 mi) S from epicenter |
Poso Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
Aftershocks detected
After this earthquake struck, 1 smaller aftershock occurred. At a distance of 27 km (17 mi) southwest of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 5 hrs later. It measured a magnitude of 2.7
Before this earthquake struck, 5 smaller foreshocks occurred. Roughly 2 days before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-3 was detected nearby this earthquake.
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreshock | M 2.8 |
2 days earlier Jul 10, 2026 15:13 (Makassar Time) | 97 km (60 mi) SE from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 3.0 |
2 days earlier Jul 10, 2026 23:45 (Makassar Time) | 63 km (39 mi) S from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 2.6 |
1 day earlier Jul 11, 2026 11:15 (Makassar Time) | 53 km (33 mi) W from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 2.5 |
1 day earlier Jul 11, 2026 19:32 (Makassar Time) | 97 km (60 mi) SE from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 2.5 |
5 hrs earlier Jul 12, 2026 16:47 (Makassar Time) | 35 km (21 mi) NW from Main Shock. |
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.3 |
Jul 12, 2026 21:46 (Makassar Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 2.7 |
5 hrs later Jul 13, 2026 02:39 (Makassar Time) | 27 km (17 mi) SW from Main Shock. |
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. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since June 16th, 2026, when a 6.7 magnitude earthquake hit 291 km (181 mi) further southwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck on September 28th, 2018.
In total, 51 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.3 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
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 5.3. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 35 km (22 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 12/07/26 19:08 (). 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.
- US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000szvv
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260712_0000179
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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