Shallow M5.9 Earthquake struck on Saturday Morning in the Flores Sea near Labuan Bajo (Indonesia).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on August 14th, 2026. Last updated August 19th, 2026.

A shallow and significant M5.9 earthquake struck in the Flores Sea 37 kilometer from Labuan Bajo, Indonesia in the early morning of Saturday August 15th, 2026. Shaking may have been felt by a total of 3.2 million people.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Flores Sea, right off the coast of Indonesia (3 mi offshore), 37 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 06:13 (Makassar Time) - Aug 14, 2026 22:13 Universal Time.
Location:	37 km NE of Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Coordinates 8°17'6"S 120°8'47"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.9 Detected by 97 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.062 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VII Very Strong 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 3.2 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 3.2 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is VII, which corresponds with very strong shaking and likely moderate damage. Roughly 3,700 people are expected to be exposed to this level. The majority of people (roughly 1.7 million) live in an area exposed to level III, where weak shaking and probably no damage is expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Indonesia .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
0	II	Very weak	None
1,693,000	III	Weak	Probably none
1,323,000	IV	Light	Likely none
163,500	V	Moderate	Very light
20,810	VI	Strong	Light
3,700	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 37 kilometer (23 mi) north-east of the epicenter of this earthquake, Labuan Bajo (East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia) is the nearest significant population center. Labuan Bajo experienced an earthquake intensity (MMI Scale) of roughly V. That level implies moderate shaking and very light damage.

A complete list of nearby places is included below. Estimated intensity data (MMI) sourced from a shake-map published by the US Geographic Survey is shown where available (cities without data probably experienced little impact).

Overview of nearby places

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 VII.

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:

• Ruteng, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia: 1 person.

1063 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 1063 smaller aftershocks occurred. Just 1 day after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-5.5 was detected 62 km (39 mi) north-east of this earthquake.

In the days before this main shock, 5 smaller foreshocks were detected. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 3 days earlier. It measured a magnitude of 3.6

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.

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 are common in the region

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since August 14th, 2026, when a 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit 133 km (82 mi) further east. That was also the heaviest earthquake to hit the region in the past 10 years.

In total, 9 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.9 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 year.

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 19/08/26 21:48 (). 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.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000tkta
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260814_0000296
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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