In the evening of Monday July 20th, 2026, a significant Magnitude 5.1 earthquake hit in the Maluku Sea 91 kilometer from Ternate, Indonesia.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Maluku Sea, 30 kilometers (19 mi) off the coast of Indonesia, 91 kilometer north of Ternate in North Maluku. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 70 km.
| Date and Time: | Jul 20, 2026 18:40 (Jayapura Time) - Jul 20, 2026 09:40 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 91 km north of Ternate, North Maluku, Indonesia. Coordinates 1°36'8"N 127°15'57"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.1 Detected by 70 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.069 . |
| Depth: | 70 km (43 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 . Ternate in North Maluku, Indonesia is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 91 kilometer (57 mi) north of Ternate.
A complete list of nearby places is included below.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 91 km (57 mi) S from epicenter |
Ternate North Maluku, Indonesia. |
| 102 km (63 mi) S from epicenter |
Sofifi North Maluku, Indonesia. |
| 264 km (164 mi) W from epicenter |
Tondano North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
| 269 km (167 mi) W from epicenter |
Manado North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
| 276 km (171 mi) W from epicenter |
Tomohon North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
Shaking reported by 1 person
People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 1 person has reported shaking in one place in Indonesia.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.
Places with most reports:
- Manado, Sulawesi Utara, Indonesia: 1 person.
Aftershocks detected
This main shock was prefaced by 11 smaller foreshocks. Roughly 2 days before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-3.5 was detected nearby this earthquake.
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreshock | M 2.7 |
3 days earlier Jul 18, 2026 04:33 (Jayapura Time) | 39 km (24 mi) NW from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 2.7 |
2 days earlier Jul 18, 2026 09:13 (Jayapura Time) | 41 km (25 mi) W from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 3.5 |
2 days earlier Jul 18, 2026 18:40 (Jayapura Time) | 98 km (61 mi) N from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 3.3 |
2 days earlier Jul 18, 2026 23:13 (Jayapura Time) | 63 km (39 mi) SE from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 2.6 |
2 days earlier Jul 19, 2026 06:16 (Jayapura Time) | 29 km (18 mi) N from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 2.6 |
1 day earlier Jul 19, 2026 09:06 (Jayapura Time) | 73 km (45 mi) SE from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 2.5 |
17 hrs earlier Jul 20, 2026 01:23 (Jayapura Time) | 70 km (44 mi) S from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 2.6 |
16 hrs earlier Jul 20, 2026 02:50 (Jayapura Time) | 82 km (51 mi) W from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 2.8 |
15 hrs earlier Jul 20, 2026 03:27 (Jayapura Time) | 62 km (38 mi) NW from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 2.9 |
15 hrs earlier Jul 20, 2026 03:31 (Jayapura Time) | 78 km (48 mi) N from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 3.4 |
12 hrs earlier Jul 20, 2026 06:43 (Jayapura Time) | 88 km (54 mi) W from Main Shock. |
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.1 |
Jul 20, 2026 18:40 (Jayapura Time) | - |
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.
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 July 7th, 2026, when a 5.4 magnitude earthquake hit 172 km (107 mi) further north. An even stronger magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck on April 1st, 2026.
In total, 206 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 18 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
| 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 5.1. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 70 km (43 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 21/07/26 07:08 (). 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.
- US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000t1wm
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260720_0000146
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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