Shallow M5.3 AFTERSHOCK hit in the Flores Sea near Labuan Bajo (Indonesia) on Thursday Afternoon.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on August 20th, 2026.

In the late afternoon of Thursday August 20th, 2026, a shallow and significant MAG-5.3 aftershock hit in the Flores Sea 91 kilometer from Labuan Bajo, Indonesia.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Flores Sea, right off the coast of Indonesia (4 mi offshore), 91 kilometer 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 17:30 (Makassar Time) - Aug 20, 2026 09:30 Universal Time.
Location:	91 km east of Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Coordinates 8°13'17"S 120°40'12"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.3 Detected by 74 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.067 .
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 . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Ruteng in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Ruteng is located 49 kilometer (30 mi) north-east of the epicenter.

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

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 an aftershock

This earthquake was an aftershock. A larger mag. 5.8 earthquake struck 25 km (15 mi) southwest in advance of this 5.3 earthquake around 11 hrs earlier.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Aftershocks are usually at least 1 order of magnitude less strong than main shocks. The more time passes, the smaller the chance and likely strength of any potential aftershocks.

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 happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. In total, 49 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.3 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 20/08/26 12:18 (). 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 us6000tm2v
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260820_0000348
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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