Reviewed by USGSIndonesia5mo ago
M4.6 earthquake 165 km SE of Bitung, Indonesia
Saturday, April 25, 2026, 17:40:25 UTC · 0.201°N, 125.954°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 165 km SE of Bitung, Indonesia on Saturday, April 25, 2026, 17:40:25 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.6 on April 25, 2026.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 35 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
2 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Molucca Sea and Sunda plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
35 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 50 km
USGS lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.5 on May 10, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 2,196 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.7148 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 14, 1932 · 22 km N of this epicenter
- 7.7264 km ESE of Luwuk, IndonesiaNovember 29, 1998 · 279 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.7121 km E of Bitung, IndonesiaAugust 10, 1968 · 145 km N of this epicenter
- 7.564 km NNW of Ternate, IndonesiaJune 25, 1907 · 186 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.5126 km WNW of Ternate, IndonesiaJanuary 21, 2007 · 103 km N of this epicenter
- 7.5146 km NW of Ternate, IndonesiaAugust 14, 1986 · 188 km N of this epicenter
- 7.4129 km ESE of Bitung, IndonesiaApril 1, 2026 · 104 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3108 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 5, 1908 · 62 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 32 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 295 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1845M7.0
N Sulawesi: Menado, Tikala, Tomohon
8 Feb 1845 · 188 km away · intensity IX
118 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1965M7.6
Sanana Island
24 Jan 1965 · 290 km away
71 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1998M7.7
Mangole, Manado, Taliabu
29 Nov 1998 · 279 km away · intensity VII
41 deaths$200 million damagetsunami
- 1855
Maluku: Ternate Island
14 Jul 1855 · 164 km away · intensity IX
34 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1994M7.0
Kau
21 Jan 1994 · 218 km away
9 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 2019M7.3
Molucca Islands: N
14 Jul 2019 · 251 km away
8 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.