M5.9 earthquake 115 km ESE of Bitung, Indonesia

Friday, May 22, 2026, 01:05:08 UTC · 1.042°N, 126.089°E

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 115 km ESE of Bitung, Indonesia on Friday, May 22, 2026, 01:05:08 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). USGS received 2 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of III (weak). The USGS PAGER alert is green: low likelihood of casualties and damage. It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.9 on April 2, 2026.

Magnitude: 5.9; Moderate · mww
Depth: 35 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 2; Max intensity III
Est. shaking: IV; Light (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: Green; Impact estimate
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

11 kilotons of TNT

That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 22 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

7 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Molucca Sea and Birds Head 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

Reports sent by people to USGS, grouped by place (most reports first). Intensity uses the Modified Mercalli scale (I–X): what people felt, not the magnitude.

Place	Intensity	Reports	Distance
Manado, Sulawesi Utara, Indonesia	III · Weak	2	145 km

I felt it — report to USGS ↗

USGS PAGER estimate

Who was exposed to shaking

Modelled from the ShakeMap and population data. Alert level green: low likelihood of casualties and damage.

IV · Light shaking: 261,000 people
III · Weak shaking: 2.6 million people
II · Weak shaking: 21,000 people

Estimated shaking in nearby towns

BitungPopulation 219,000IV · Light
TomohonPopulation 96,000III · Weak
ManadoPopulation 462,000III · Weak
AirmadidiPopulation 26,000III · Weak
TernatePopulation 204,000III · Weak
KotamobaguPopulation 121,000III · Weak
SofifiPopulation 2,000III · Weak
ModisiPopulation 11,000III · Weak

After the main event

Aftershocks within 75 km

USGS lists 10 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.5 on May 25, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 2,471 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

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 2,989 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1856
Sangihe Pulau (Volcanic)
2 Mar 1856 · 299 km away
2,806 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1845M7.0
N Sulawesi: Menado, Tikala, Tomohon
8 Feb 1845 · 146 km away · intensity IX
118 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1855
Maluku: Ternate Island
14 Jul 1855 · 137 km away · intensity IX
34 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
1994M7.0
Kau
21 Jan 1994 · 183 km away
9 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
2019M7.3
Molucca Islands: N
14 Jul 2019 · 283 km away
8 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
1932M7.7
Sulawesi: Kakas,Langowan,Poso,Tondano
14 May 1932 · 76 km away · intensity VII
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers