In the early morning of Saturday August 1st, 2026, a shallow and significant MAG-5.2 earthquake hit in the Seram Sea 238 kilometer from Ambon, Indonesia.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Seram Sea, right off the coast of Indonesia (10 mi offshore), 238 kilometer north-east of Ambon in Maluku. 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: | Aug 1, 2026 05:19 (Jayapura Time) - Jul 31, 2026 20:19 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 238 km NE of Ambon, Maluku, Indonesia. Coordinates 2°50'42"S 130°9'17"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.2 Detected by 14 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.083 . |
| Depth: | 10 km (6 mi) A very 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 . Amahai in Maluku, Indonesia is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 148 kilometer (92 mi) east of Amahai.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 148 km (92 mi) W from epicenter |
Amahai Maluku, Indonesia. |
| 238 km (148 mi) SW from epicenter |
Ambon Maluku, Indonesia. |
| 251 km (156 mi) NE from epicenter |
Sorong West Papua, Indonesia. |
16 Aftershocks detected
After this earthquake struck, 16 smaller aftershocks occurred. Just 51 mins after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-4.4 was detected 9 km (6 mi) south-east of this earthquake.
This main shock was prefaced by 8 smaller foreshocks. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 1 day earlier. It measured a magnitude of 4.3
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreshock | M 2.8 |
3 days earlier Jul 29, 2026 15:26 (Jayapura Time) | 62 km (39 mi) W from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 3.5 |
2 days earlier Jul 29, 2026 19:18 (Jayapura Time) | 13 km (8 mi) E from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 2.8 |
2 days earlier Jul 29, 2026 19:25 (Jayapura Time) | 19 km (12 mi) NW from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 2.5 |
2 days earlier Jul 29, 2026 21:36 (Jayapura Time) | 43 km (27 mi) SE from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 2.8 |
2 days earlier Jul 30, 2026 10:27 (Jayapura Time) | 76 km (47 mi) W from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 3.7 |
2 days earlier Jul 30, 2026 10:46 (Jayapura Time) | 87 km (54 mi) W from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 4.3 |
1 day earlier Jul 30, 2026 23:23 (Jayapura Time) | 74 km (46 mi) SE from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 3.5 |
9 mins earlier Aug 1, 2026 05:10 (Jayapura Time) | 8 km (5 mi) E from Main Shock. |
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.2 |
Aug 1, 2026 05:19 (Jayapura Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 4.2 |
10 mins later Aug 1, 2026 05:29 (Jayapura Time) | 9 km (5 mi) E from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.6 |
21 mins later Aug 1, 2026 05:40 (Jayapura Time) | 7 km (4 mi) NE from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 2.5 |
27 mins later Aug 1, 2026 05:46 (Jayapura Time) | 10 km (6 mi) SW from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.5 |
29 mins later Aug 1, 2026 05:48 (Jayapura Time) | 7 km (4 mi) NW from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.8 |
35 mins later Aug 1, 2026 05:54 (Jayapura Time) | 11 km (7 mi) E from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.2 |
38 mins later Aug 1, 2026 05:57 (Jayapura Time) | 6 km (4 mi) E from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 4.4 |
51 mins later Aug 1, 2026 06:10 (Jayapura Time) | 9 km (6 mi) SE from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.1 |
57 mins later Aug 1, 2026 06:16 (Jayapura Time) | 9 km (6 mi) NE from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 2.7 |
1 hr later Aug 1, 2026 06:30 (Jayapura Time) | 9 km (5 mi) SW from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 4.1 |
1 hr later Aug 1, 2026 06:32 (Jayapura Time) | 13 km (8 mi) E from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.3 |
1 hr later Aug 1, 2026 06:43 (Jayapura Time) | 9 km (5 mi) NE from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.5 |
1 hr later Aug 1, 2026 06:46 (Jayapura Time) | 16 km (10 mi) NE from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.2 |
2 hrs later Aug 1, 2026 06:56 (Jayapura Time) | 10 km (6 mi) NE from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.7 |
2 hrs later Aug 1, 2026 07:02 (Jayapura Time) | 11 km (7 mi) E from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 2.6 |
2 hrs later Aug 1, 2026 07:12 (Jayapura Time) | 23 km (14 mi) SE from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.8 |
2 hrs later Aug 1, 2026 07:18 (Jayapura Time) | 15 km (10 mi) E 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.
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. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since April 1st, 2026, when a 5.3 magnitude earthquake hit 283 km (176 mi) further north. An even stronger magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck on September 25th, 2019.
In total, 36 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.2 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
| 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 5.2. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 10 km (6 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 31/07/26 23:18 (). 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 us6000thbq
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260731_0000291
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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