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Indonesia

M5.0 Earthquake near Northern Molucca Sea (Indonesia)

UTC time: 2025-08-17 15:31:16 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

M5.0 Earthquake near Northern Molucca Sea (Indonesia) · 2025-08-17 — Map showing the location of the epicenter
M5.0 Earthquake near Northern Molucca Sea (Indonesia) · 2025-08-17 — Map showing the location of the epicenter

About this earthquake

A magnitude M5.0 earthquake was recorded near Northern Molucca Sea (Indonesia) on August 17, 2025 at 15:31 UTC. The hypocenter lay relatively close to the surface at around 10 km, increasing how strongly it was felt. Events of this size can cause damage near the epicenter.

The event was recorded by GFZ. Indonesia: 23 earthquakes were recorded in the past 24 hours, the strongest reaching M4.8.

Details

ID
73b1c694a9248d9d153f31855403278bb22233e0
Magnitude
M5.0
Depth
10.0 km
UTC time
2025-08-17 15:31:16 UTC
Local time
—
Country
Indonesia
City
Maluku Utara
Source
gfz
Coordinates
2.23000, 127.35000
Temperature
27.0°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
Tobelo92.1 kmSE34'150
Ternate160.1 kmS210'836
General Santos494.7 kmNW722'059

GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Volcanoes nearby

  • Tarakan
    Distance: 69 km ·Pyroclastic cone(s) ·Elevation: 317 m ·Indonesia
  • Tobaru
    Distance: 76 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'035 m ·Indonesia
  • Dukono Activity reported
    Distance: 83 km ·Complex ·Elevation: 1'273 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·Indonesia
  • Ibu Activity reported
    Distance: 88 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'357 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·Indonesia
  • Gamkonora
    Distance: 97 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'635 m ·Last eruption: 2007 ·Indonesia
  • Todoko-Ranu
    Distance: 111 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 hours2
First 24 hours4
First 72 hours7
Strongest subsequent eventM5.1
M5.02025-08-17 15:31:17 UTC19.8 kmMaluku Utara M5.02025-08-17 15:31:20 UTC44.0 km130 km WNW of Tobelo, Indonesia M3.82025-08-18 08:32:16 UTC137.6 kmHALMAHERA, INDONESIA M3.82025-08-18 10:45:17 UTC91.6 kmMOLUCCA SEA M2.72025-08-18 20:11:05 UTC105.6 kmMOLUCCA SEA M3.22025-08-20 00:35:48 UTC26.2 kmMOLUCCA SEA M3.22025-08-20 10:25:09 UTC116.8 kmHALMAHERA, INDONESIA M3.32025-08-21 15:06:40 UTC121.6 kmHALMAHERA, INDONESIA M3.32025-08-21 21:19:16 UTC118.2 kmHALMAHERA, INDONESIA M3.42025-08-23 08:55:34 UTC67.8 kmMOLUCCA SEA M3.32025-08-23 09:03:28 UTC48.3 kmMOLUCCA SEA M2.92025-08-23 18:03:22 UTC133.9 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#26
Earlier events M≥4119
Earlier events M≥529
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 UTC66.9 km145 km WNW of Tobelo, Indonesia M6.12025-07-25 21:30:00 UTC50.7 kmNorthern Molucca Sea M6.02025-07-25 21:29:55 UTC50.8 km126 km WNW of Tobelo, Indonesia M6.02025-02-05 03:12:28 UTC78.1 kmNorth Maluku M5.92025-04-02 21:03:42 UTC74.6 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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