Shallow M5.2 FORESHOCK struck on Wednesday Morning in the Flores Sea near Ende (Indonesia).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on August 19th, 2026. Last updated September 9th, 2026.

A shallow and significant MAG-5.2 foreshock struck in the Flores Sea 68 kilometer from Ende, Indonesia in the morning of Wednesday August 19th, 2026.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Flores Sea, 29 kilometers (18 mi) off the coast of Indonesia, 68 kilometer north of Ende 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 19, 2026 11:13 (Makassar Time) - Aug 19, 2026 03:13 Universal Time.
Location:	68 km north of Ende, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Coordinates 8°15'0"S 121°30'49"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.2 Detected by 41 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.09 .
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 . Ende in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 68 kilometer (42 mi) north of Ende.

A complete list of nearby places is included below.

Overview of nearby places

This is likely a foreshock

This earthquake was followed by a stronger MAG-5.6 earthquake, classifying this earthquake as a foreshock.

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.

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 August 17th, 2026, when a 5.4 magnitude earthquake hit 124 km (77 mi) further west. An even stronger magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck on August 14th, 2026.

In total, 49 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 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 09/09/26 05:58 (). As more information on this earthquake becomes available this article will be updated. This article is automatically composed based on data originating from multiple sources.

1. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260819_0000099
2. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
3. Google Maps: Static API
4. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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