Reviewed by USGSIndonesia5h ago
M5.0 earthquake 52 km NNW of Ruteng, Indonesia
Saturday, September 26, 2026, 19:37:01 UTC · 8.158°S, 120.329°E
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 52 km NNW of Ruteng, Indonesia on Saturday, September 26, 2026, 19:37:01 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.5 on September 21, 2026.
- Magnitude
- 5.0
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 10 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
477 tons of TNT
That is about 1/32 of the Hiroshima bomb. Each whole step in magnitude is about 32 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
26 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Timor plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
10 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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km since this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 621 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9169 km NNE of Maumere, IndonesiaJune 17, 1996 · 274 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.866 km NNW of Ende, IndonesiaAugust 14, 2026 · 113 km E of this epicenter
- 7.837 km WNW of Maumere, IndonesiaDecember 12, 1992 · 176 km E of this epicenter
- 7.3Flores SeaDecember 14, 2021 · 218 km E of this epicenter
- 7.270 km SE of Maumere, IndonesiaOctober 20, 1938 · 279 km E of this epicenter
- 7.1135 km NNE of Labuan Bajo, IndonesiaMay 24, 1990 · 88 km N of this epicenter
- 7.0199 km SSW of Katabu, IndonesiaMarch 3, 1927 · 249 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0133 km NNE of Pototano, IndonesiaJuly 5, 1911 · 281 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 20 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 3,154 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1992M7.8
Flores Region, Maumere, Babi
12 Dec 1992 · 176 km away · intensity XI
2,500 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1820M7.5
Sulawesi: Makasar
29 Dec 1820 · 195 km away · intensity X
500 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 2026M7.7
Flores Region
14 Aug 2026 · 114 km away · intensity VII
142 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 2003M6.5
Flores: Reo
25 Mar 2003 · 48 km away
4 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 2007M6.5
Sumbawa Island
25 Nov 2007 · 219 km away
3 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 2009M6.6
Sumabawa: Bima
8 Nov 2009 · 187 km away
2 deaths$2 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.