M5.7 earthquake 131 km W of Ternate, Indonesia

Thursday, July 23, 2026, 22:58:35 UTC · 0.597°N, 126.221°E

A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 131 km W of Ternate, Indonesia on Thursday, July 23, 2026, 22:58:35 UTC, at a depth of 42.5 km (shallow). USGS received 3 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of IV (light). The USGS PAGER alert is green: low likelihood of casualties and damage. It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.2 on July 3, 2026.

Magnitude: 5.7; Moderate · mww
Depth: 43 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 3; Max intensity IV
Est. shaking: III; Weak (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

5 kilotons of TNT

That is about 1/3 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 11 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

18 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

43 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	IV · Light	3	188 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.

III · Weak shaking: 2.7 million people
II · Weak shaking: 124,000 people

Estimated shaking in nearby towns

ManadoPopulation 462,000III · Weak
BitungPopulation 219,000III · Weak
TomohonPopulation 96,000III · Weak
TernatePopulation 204,000III · Weak
LabuhaPopulation 7,100III · Weak
AirmadidiPopulation 26,000III · Weak
SoasioPopulation 103,000III · Weak
WedaPopulation 6,700III · Weak

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 M4.4 on July 31, 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 2,344 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 31 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 184 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1845M7.0
N Sulawesi: Menado, Tikala, Tomohon
8 Feb 1845 · 181 km away · intensity IX
118 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1855
Maluku: Ternate Island
14 Jul 1855 · 122 km away · intensity IX
34 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
1994M7.0
Kau
21 Jan 1994 · 174 km away
9 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
2019M7.3
Molucca Islands: N
14 Jul 2019 · 243 km away
8 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
1932M7.7
Sulawesi: Kakas,Langowan,Poso,Tondano
14 May 1932 · 44 km away · intensity VII
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
2007M7.5
Molucca Islands: N
21 Jan 2007 · 53 km away
4 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)

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

Nearby trackers