Reviewed by USGSIndonesia13d ago
M4.5 earthquake 50 km NNW of Ruteng, Indonesia
Monday, September 14, 2026, 00:53:46 UTC · 8.171°S, 120.353°E
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 50 km NNW of Ruteng, Indonesia on Monday, September 14, 2026, 00:53:46 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.0 on September 13, 2026.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- Light · 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
85 tons of TNT
That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
23 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 50 km
USGS lists 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km since this event; the largest was M5.5 on September 21, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 5.052 km NNW of Ruteng, Indonesia6h ago · 3 km NW of this epicenter
- 4.842 km N of Ruteng, Indonesia1d ago · 11 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.535 km NNE of Ruteng, Indonesia6d ago · 29 km SE of this epicenter
- 4.734 km NNE of Ruteng, Indonesia8d ago · 29 km SE of this epicenter
- 4.345 km N of Ruteng, Indonesia11d ago · 11 km E of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 617 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 · 272 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.866 km NNW of Ende, IndonesiaAugust 14, 2026 · 111 km E of this epicenter
- 7.837 km WNW of Maumere, IndonesiaDecember 12, 1992 · 173 km E of this epicenter
- 7.3Flores SeaDecember 14, 2021 · 216 km E of this epicenter
- 7.270 km SE of Maumere, IndonesiaOctober 20, 1938 · 277 km E of this epicenter
- 7.1135 km NNE of Labuan Bajo, IndonesiaMay 24, 1990 · 90 km N of this epicenter
- 7.0199 km SSW of Katabu, IndonesiaMarch 3, 1927 · 248 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0133 km NNE of Pototano, IndonesiaJuly 5, 1911 · 284 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 · 173 km away · intensity XI
2,500 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1820M7.5
Sulawesi: Makasar
29 Dec 1820 · 198 km away · intensity X
500 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 2026M7.7
Flores Region
14 Aug 2026 · 111 km away · intensity VII
142 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 2003M6.5
Flores: Reo
25 Mar 2003 · 45 km away
4 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 2007M6.5
Sumbawa Island
25 Nov 2007 · 222 km away
3 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 2009M6.6
Sumabawa: Bima
8 Nov 2009 · 190 km away
2 deaths$2 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.