Shallow M5.1 AFTERSHOCK hit in the Flores Sea near Labuan Bajo (Indonesia) on Saturday Morning.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on August 14th, 2026. Last updated August 15th, 2026.

In the Flores Sea 69 kilometer from Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, a shallow and significant MAG-5.1 aftershock occurred in the morning of Saturday August 15th, 2026.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Flores Sea, right off the coast of Indonesia (6 mi offshore), 69 kilometer north-east of Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara. 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 15, 2026 07:12 (Makassar Time) - Aug 14, 2026 23:12 Universal Time.
Location:	69 km NE of Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Coordinates 8°10'10"S 120°24'60"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.1 Detected by 18 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.135 .
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 . Located 49 kilometer (30 mi) north of the epicenter of this earthquake, Ruteng (East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia) is the nearest significant population center.

The table below provides an overview of all places in proximity of today's earthquake.

Overview of nearby places

This is likely an aftershock

This earthquake is likely an aftershock of the MAG-5.9 earthquake that struck 59 mins earlier. That main earthquake hit 32 km (20 mi) southwest of the epicenter of this MAG-5.1 aftershock.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Earthquakes can create aftershocks. These are generally at least 1 magnitude lower than any main shock, and as time passes the chance and strength of aftershocks decreases.

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.

Earthquakes like this happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. In total, 51 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.

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

Sources

Last updated 15/08/26 09:18 (). 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.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000tkv7
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260814_0000330
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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