A significant M5.2 earthquake struck in the Maluku Sea 145 kilometer from Manado, Indonesia in the early afternoon of Friday October 9th, 2026.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Maluku Sea, 111 kilometers (69 mi) off the coast of Indonesia, 145 kilometer south-east of Manado in North Sulawesi. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 40 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Oct 9, 2026 13:11 (Makassar Time) - Oct 9, 2026 05:11 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 145 km SE of Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Coordinates 0°45'31"N 125°56'11"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.2 Detected by 101 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.057 . |
| Depth: | 40 km (25 mi) A quite 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 Tondano in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Tondano is located 129 kilometer (80 mi) south-east of the epicenter.
The table below provides an overview of all places in proximity of today's earthquake.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 129 km (80 mi) NW from epicenter |
Tondano North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
| 140 km (87 mi) NW from epicenter |
Tomohon North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
| 145 km (90 mi) NW from epicenter |
Manado North Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
| 161 km (100 mi) E from epicenter |
Ternate North Maluku, Indonesia. |
| 180 km (112 mi) E from epicenter |
Sofifi North Maluku, Indonesia. |
Shaking reported by 2 people
People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 2 people have reported shaking in 2 places 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:
- Manado, Sulawesi Utara, Indonesia: 1 person.
- Bitung, Sulawesi Utara, Indonesia: 1 person.
3 Aftershocks detected
Since this main shock, 3 smaller aftershocks were detected. Just 21 hrs after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-5.1 was detected 87 km (54 mi) north-east of this earthquake.
Before this earthquake struck, 1 smaller foreshock occurred. A 3.1 magnitude earthquake hit 14 hrs earlier nearby.
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreshock | M 3.1 |
14 hrs earlier Oct 8, 2026 22:54 (Makassar Time) | 69 km (43 mi) NE from Main Shock. |
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.2 |
Oct 9, 2026 13:11 (Makassar Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 5.1 |
21 hrs later Oct 10, 2026 10:00 (Makassar Time) | 87 km (54 mi) NE from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 2.9 |
2 days later Oct 11, 2026 05:14 (Makassar Time) | 81 km (51 mi) NE from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.5 |
2 days later Oct 11, 2026 14:42 (Makassar Time) | 85 km (53 mi) NE from Main Shock. |
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 5th, 2026, when a 5.3 magnitude earthquake hit 202 km (126 mi) further north-east. An even stronger magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck on April 1st, 2026.
In total, 147 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 25 days.
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
| Factor | Under Sea? | MAG-6.5 or stronger? | Shallow depth? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Explanation | Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami. | Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's. |
Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor. |
| This Earthquake | This earthquake appears to have struck under the sea. | Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.2. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 40 km (25 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 11/10/26 07:28 (). 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.
- US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000u13v
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20261009_0000087
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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