Reviewed by USGSIndonesia4mo ago
M5.0 earthquake 134 km SE of Bitung, Indonesia
Wednesday, May 27, 2026, 06:24:15 UTC · 0.464°N, 125.850°E
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 134 km SE of Bitung, Indonesia on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, 06:24:15 UTC, at a depth of 10.9 km (shallow). USGS received 1 “Did You Feel It?” report, with a maximum reported intensity of II (weak). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.5 on May 25, 2026.
- Magnitude
- 5.0
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 11 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 1
- Max intensity II
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area
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
19 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
11 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 | II · Weak | 1 | 161 km |
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 lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.6 on May 29, 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 2,318 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 · 9 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.7121 km E of Bitung, IndonesiaAugust 10, 1968 · 120 km N of this epicenter
- 7.564 km NNW of Ternate, IndonesiaJune 25, 1907 · 177 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.5126 km WNW of Ternate, IndonesiaJanuary 21, 2007 · 82 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.5146 km NW of Ternate, IndonesiaAugust 14, 1986 · 166 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.4129 km ESE of Bitung, IndonesiaApril 1, 2026 · 82 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3108 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 5, 1908 · 41 km W of this epicenter
- 7.2182 km WNW of Tobelo, IndonesiaOctober 10, 1938 · 228 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 28 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 182 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1845M7.0
N Sulawesi: Menado, Tikala, Tomohon
8 Feb 1845 · 159 km away · intensity IX
118 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1855
Maluku: Ternate Island
14 Jul 1855 · 165 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 · 273 km away
8 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1932M7.7
Sulawesi: Kakas,Langowan,Poso,Tondano
14 May 1932 · 9 km away · intensity VII
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 2007M7.5
Molucca Islands: N
21 Jan 2007 · 82 km away
4 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.