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M5.2 Earthquake near Northern Molucca Sea (Indonesia)

UTC time: 2025-08-17 15:03:12 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

M5.2 Earthquake near Northern Molucca Sea (Indonesia) · 2025-08-17 — Map showing the location of the epicenter
M5.2 Earthquake near Northern Molucca Sea (Indonesia) · 2025-08-17 — Map showing the location of the epicenter

About this earthquake

On August 17, 2025 at 15:03 UTC, a magnitude M5.2 earthquake occurred near Northern Molucca Sea (Indonesia). With a focal depth of about 10 km, this was a shallow earthquake, whose shaking is usually felt more strongly at the surface. Events of this size can cause damage near the epicenter.

The event was recorded by GFZ. Indonesia: 22 earthquakes were recorded in the past 24 hours, the strongest reaching M4.8.

Details

ID
12920391abf9d5ec808aba0944d4489b4d169472
Magnitude
M5.2
Depth
10.0 km
UTC time
2025-08-17 15:03:12 UTC
Local time
—
Country
Indonesia
City
Maluku Utara
Source
gfz
Coordinates
2.17000, 127.18000
Temperature
26.8°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 (43.4 km)
Regional average: 43.4 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
Tobelo104.4 kmSE34'150
Ternate155.0 kmS210'836
General Santos491.7 kmNW722'059

GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Volcanoes nearby

  • Tarakan
    Distance: 81 km ·Pyroclastic cone(s) ·Elevation: 317 m ·Indonesia
  • Tobaru
    Distance: 81 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'035 m ·Indonesia
  • Ibu Activity reported
    Distance: 90 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'357 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·Indonesia
  • Dukono Activity reported
    Distance: 94 km ·Complex ·Elevation: 1'273 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·Indonesia
  • Gamkonora
    Distance: 96 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'635 m ·Last eruption: 2007 ·Indonesia
  • Todoko-Ranu
    Distance: 108 km ·Caldera(s) ·Elevation: 979 m ·Indonesia

Subsequent earthquakes nearby

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

First 6 hours4
First 24 hours6
First 72 hours9
Strongest subsequent eventM5.5
M5.52025-08-17 15:03:16 UTC18.3 km118 km WNW of Tobelo, Indonesia M5.02025-08-17 15:31:16 UTC20.0 kmNorthern Molucca Sea M5.02025-08-17 15:31:17 UTC4.4 kmMaluku Utara M5.02025-08-17 15:31:20 UTC26.7 km130 km WNW of Tobelo, Indonesia M3.82025-08-18 08:32:16 UTC144.7 kmHALMAHERA, INDONESIA M3.82025-08-18 10:45:17 UTC77.7 kmMOLUCCA SEA M2.72025-08-18 20:11:05 UTC89.8 kmMOLUCCA SEA M3.22025-08-20 00:35:48 UTC6.8 kmMOLUCCA SEA M3.22025-08-20 10:25:09 UTC135.8 kmHALMAHERA, INDONESIA M3.32025-08-21 15:06:40 UTC141.5 kmHALMAHERA, INDONESIA M3.32025-08-21 21:19:16 UTC136.1 kmHALMAHERA, INDONESIA M3.42025-08-23 08:55:34 UTC49.2 kmMOLUCCA SEA

Maluku Utara

Context for this earthquake

26 Sep 2025 – 26 Sep 2026 · M ≥ 3.0 · 788 Catalogue entries

Sufficiently reliable matching data are not currently available for a direct comparison. The area profile shows the available records and their limitations.

Open seismic profile

Historical context nearby

Comparison with recorded earthquakes before this event within 150 km.

Magnitude rank#11
Earlier events M≥4116
Earlier events M≥528
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 UTC47.2 km145 km WNW of Tobelo, Indonesia M6.12025-07-25 21:30:00 UTC30.9 kmNorthern Molucca Sea M6.02025-07-25 21:29:55 UTC30.7 km126 km WNW of Tobelo, Indonesia M6.02025-02-05 03:12:28 UTC68.1 kmNorth Maluku M5.92025-04-02 21:03:42 UTC54.6 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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