On Wednesday Night a Significant M5.7 Earthquake struck in the Maluku Sea 182km from Manado (Indonesia).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on August 4th, 2026.

A significant M5.7 earthquake struck in the Maluku Sea 182 kilometer from Manado, Indonesia in the early morning of Wednesday August 5th, 2026. Roughly 2.5 million people may have felt this earthquake.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Maluku Sea, 107 kilometers (66 mi) off the coast of Indonesia, 182 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:	Aug 5, 2026 05:16 (Jayapura Time) - Aug 4, 2026 20:16 Universal Time.
Location:	182 km east of Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Coordinates 1°30'24"N 126°29'8"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.7 Detected by 8 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.11 .
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 2.5 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 2.5 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is IV, which corresponds with light shaking and likely no damage. Roughly 3,620 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 2.5 million). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Indonesia .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
35,550	II	Very weak	None
2,454,000	III	Weak	Probably none
3,620	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 128 kilometer (80 mi) northwest of the epicenter of this earthquake, Ternate (North Maluku, Indonesia) is the nearest significant population center. The intensity of shaking and damage in Ternate is estimated to be around level III on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (weak shaking, probably no damage).

The table below provides an overview of all places in proximity of today's earthquake. Where available, the estimated intensity on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale in each place is included. Places where this information is omitted likely experienced little impact.

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
128 km (80 mi) SE from epicenter	Ternate North Maluku, Indonesia.	III Weak
147 km (91 mi) SE from epicenter	Sofifi North Maluku, Indonesia.	III Weak
176 km (109 mi) W from epicenter	Tondano North Sulawesi, Indonesia.	III Weak
182 km (113 mi) W from epicenter	Manado North Sulawesi, Indonesia.	III Weak
188 km (117 mi) W from epicenter	Tomohon North Sulawesi, Indonesia.	III Weak

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.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

Shaking reported by 3 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 3 people have reported shaking in 2 places 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:

Bitung, Sulawesi Utara, Indonesia: 2 people.
Manado, Sulawesi Utara, Indonesia: 1 person.

Aftershocks detected

Before this earthquake struck, 13 smaller foreshocks occurred. Roughly 16 hrs before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-3.7 was detected nearby this earthquake.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.
Classification	Magnitude	When	Where
Foreshock	M 2.7	3 days earlier Aug 2, 2026 13:49 (Jayapura Time)	38 km (24 mi) S from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 2.7	2 days earlier Aug 2, 2026 21:14 (Jayapura Time)	21 km (13 mi) S from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 2.9	2 days earlier Aug 3, 2026 02:22 (Jayapura Time)	32 km (20 mi) W from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 3.1	2 days earlier Aug 3, 2026 14:52 (Jayapura Time)	65 km (40 mi) SW from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 3.0	1 day earlier Aug 3, 2026 20:16 (Jayapura Time)	16 km (10 mi) SW from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 3.1	1 day earlier Aug 3, 2026 20:36 (Jayapura Time)	51 km (32 mi) W from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 2.6	1 day earlier Aug 3, 2026 23:00 (Jayapura Time)	33 km (21 mi) S from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 2.6	1 day earlier Aug 4, 2026 05:03 (Jayapura Time)	66 km (41 mi) E from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 2.5	23 hrs earlier Aug 4, 2026 06:02 (Jayapura Time)	68 km (42 mi) SE from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 2.9	23 hrs earlier Aug 4, 2026 06:37 (Jayapura Time)	25 km (16 mi) S from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 3.7	16 hrs earlier Aug 4, 2026 13:29 (Jayapura Time)	75 km (47 mi) NW from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 2.5	7 hrs earlier Aug 4, 2026 22:35 (Jayapura Time)	85 km (53 mi) E from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 2.6	39 mins earlier Aug 5, 2026 04:38 (Jayapura Time)	58 km (36 mi) NW from Main Shock.
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 5.7	Aug 5, 2026 05:16 (Jayapura Time)	-

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.

The chance that a significant earthquake like this one is followed by an even larger earthquake is not so large. On average, scientists estimate a 94% chance that a major earthquake will not be followed by an even larger one. It is still adviced to be aware of this risk

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 23rd, 2026, when a 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit 106 km (66 mi) further south. An even stronger magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck on April 1st, 2026.

In total, 46 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.7 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

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

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 5.7. 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 04/08/26 23:48 (). 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.