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M5.1 Earthquake near Northern Molucca Sea (Indonesia)

UTC time: 2025-12-09 18:02:25 UTC Local time: —
Earthquake newsQuakeMap24
Archive record · original publication time was not recorded

Automatically generated from measurement data by QuakeMap24. Values may change after further analysis.

Map

M5.1 Earthquake near Northern Molucca Sea (Indonesia) · 2025-12-09 — Map showing the location of the epicenter
M5.1 Earthquake near Northern Molucca Sea (Indonesia) · 2025-12-09 — Map showing the location of the epicenter

About this earthquake

A magnitude M5.1 earthquake was recorded near Northern Molucca Sea (Indonesia) on December 9, 2025 at 18:02 UTC. The hypocenter lay relatively close to the surface at around 10 km, increasing how strongly it was felt. Earthquakes of this magnitude can damage poorly built structures.

The event was recorded by GFZ. Indonesia: over the past 24 hours, QuakeMap24 logged 41 earthquakes, the strongest at M6.0.

Details

ID
0c560ad4151cfedb8f0bf8481869523b31522239
Magnitude
M5.1
Depth
10.0 km
UTC time
2025-12-09 18:02:25 UTC
Local time
—
Country
Indonesia
City
Maluku Utara
Source
gfz
Coordinates
1.66000, 126.59000
Temperature
27.9°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 10 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 10 km
Shallow
10 km
10 km — shallower than the regional average (43.3 km)
Regional average: 43.3 km
Why depth matters

Shallow quakes release energy near the surface — shaking is felt more strongly and damage potential is higher.

Depth classes per USGS

Nearby population centers

Distances are straight-line distances from the epicenter. Population data: GeoNames.

PlaceDistanceDirectionPopulation
Ternate130.9 kmSE210'836
General Santos519.5 kmN722'059

GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Volcanoes nearby

  • Todoko-Ranu
    Distance: 107 km ·Caldera(s) ·Elevation: 979 m ·Indonesia
  • Gamkonora
    Distance: 109 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'635 m ·Last eruption: 2007 ·Indonesia
  • Jailolo
    Distance: 114 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 993 m ·Indonesia
  • Hiri
    Distance: 117 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 687 m ·Indonesia
  • Ibu Activity reported
    Distance: 117 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'357 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·Indonesia
  • Tobaru
    Distance: 120 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'035 m ·Indonesia

Subsequent earthquakes nearby

Events recorded after this earthquake within 150 km. They are not automatically classified as aftershocks.

First 6 hours0
First 24 hours3
First 72 hours5
Strongest subsequent eventM5.7
M3.52025-12-10 08:33:20 UTC64.5 kmHALMAHERA, INDONESIA M2.82025-12-10 12:41:15 UTC79.9 kmMOLUCCA SEA M2.82025-12-10 17:34:55 UTC60.5 kmMOLUCCA SEA M3.22025-12-10 18:04:35 UTC41.7 kmMOLUCCA SEA M2.92025-12-12 14:47:33 UTC44.8 kmMOLUCCA SEA M2.82025-12-12 18:12:39 UTC73.5 kmHALMAHERA, INDONESIA M2.72025-12-14 00:47:35 UTC58.7 kmHALMAHERA, INDONESIA M4.32025-12-14 00:55:44 UTC79.9 kmHALMAHERA, INDONESIA M4.32025-12-14 00:55:45 UTC82.0 km77 km WSW of Tobelo, Indonesia M5.12025-12-14 12:03:21 UTC61.5 kmNorthern Molucca Sea M5.02025-12-14 12:03:28 UTC41.1 km158 km ENE of Bitung, Indonesia M2.82025-12-14 15:13:59 UTC46.9 kmMOLUCCA SEA

Maluku Utara

Context for this earthquake

04 Oct 2025 – 04 Oct 2026 · M ≥ 3.0 · 781 Catalogue entries

Of 780 other entries for this area and period, 17 have a higher stored magnitude. Different magnitude types and reports not yet merged limit the comparison.

Open seismic profile

Historical context nearby

Comparison with recorded earthquakes before this event within 150 km.

Magnitude rank#28
Earlier events M≥4175
Earlier events M≥546
Compared since2025-01-02

The QuakeMap24 comparison dataset begins on 2024-03-23. Earlier earthquakes may not be included.

Strongest earlier events

M6.22025-04-02 21:03:37 UTC54.2 km145 km WNW of Tobelo, Indonesia M6.12025-07-25 21:30:00 UTC56.6 kmNorthern Molucca Sea M6.02025-07-25 21:29:55 UTC58.8 km126 km WNW of Tobelo, Indonesia M6.02025-02-05 03:12:28 UTC62.3 kmNorth Maluku M5.92025-04-02 21:03:42 UTC42.6 kmNorth Maluku

Historic earthquake map · Indonesia

Open history map
Explore recent and long-term earthquake activity in this country. Use filters to narrow down by magnitude, depth, and date range.

Country statistics · Indonesia

Country overview
View earthquake KPIs, strongest and latest events, and averages for this country.

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