On Thursday Morning a Shallow M5.2 FORESHOCK struck near Labuan Bajo in Indonesia.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on August 19th, 2026. Last updated August 20th, 2026.

In the early morning of Thursday August 20th, 2026, a shallow and significant MAG-5.2 foreshock hit under land 68 kilometer from Labuan Bajo in Indonesia.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Indonesia, 68 kilometer (42 mi) 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 20, 2026 06:28 (Makassar Time) - Aug 19, 2026 22:28 Universal Time.
Location:	68 km east of Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Coordinates 8°18'36"S 120°28'18"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.2 Detected by 49 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.082 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake in a coastal area, it appears to have occurred under land (2 km from the sea) with a magnitude that is usually not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Indonesia . Ruteng in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 34 kilometer (21 mi) north of Ruteng.

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below.

Overview of nearby places

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.

This is likely a foreshock

This earthquake was followed by a stronger MAG-5.8 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 19th, 2026, when a 5.5 magnitude earthquake hit 26 km (16 mi) further north-east. An even stronger magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck on August 14th, 2026.

In total, 48 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.

Tsunami very unlikely

While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit under land. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk of a tsunami even less likely. However always stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Sources

Last updated 20/08/26 09:38 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000tm0s
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260819_0000715
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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