Very Strong Mag. 6.2 Earthquake - Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea on Saturday, Jul 10, 2021, at 08:43 am (Makassar Time) -

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Very strong mag. 6.2 earthquake - Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea on Saturday, 10 July 2021 at 00:43 (GMT)

A very strong magnitude 6.2 earthquake occurred in the Maluku Sea 83 km (52 mi) from Indonesia in the morning of Saturday, Jul 10, 2021 at 8.43 am local time (Asia/Makassar GMT +8). The quake had a very shallow depth of 23 km (14 mi) and was not felt (or at least not reported so).

Very strong mag. 6.2 Earthquake - Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea on Saturday, Jul 10, 2021, at 08:43 am (Makassar time)

Very strong magnitude 6.2 earthquake at 23 km depth

10 Jul 00:51 UTC: First to report: GFZ after 7 minutes.
10 Jul 00:52: Magnitude recalculated from 5.9 to 5.8. Epicenter location corrected by 12 km (7.5 mi) towards WNW.
10 Jul 00:55: Now using data updates from BMKG

Earthquake details

Date & time	Jul 10, 2021 00:43:57 UTC
Local time at epicenter	Saturday, Jul 10, 2021, at 08:43 am (Asia/Makassar GMT +8)
Status	Preliminary (automatic detection)
Magnitude	6.2
Depth	23 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude	2.99°N / 126.64°E Maluku Sea, Indonesia
Seismic antipode	2.99°S / 53.36°W Brazil
Shaking intensity	VI Strong shaking near epicenter
Felt	0 reports
Primary data source	BMKG (Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency of Indonesia)
Nearest volcano	Banua Wuhu (118 km / 73 mi)
Weather at epicenter at time of quake	Overcast Clouds 28.6°C (84 F), humidity: 75%, wind: 5 m/s (9 kts) from SSW
Estimated seismic energy released	1.3 x 10¹⁴ joules (35 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 30089 tons of TNT or 1.9 atomic bombs!) \| about seismic energy

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Nearby places

The closest larger town where the quake might have been felt is Tobelo, a town with 10,000 inhabitants in Indonesia, in 207 km (129 mi) distance southeast of the epicenter. People likely experienced light shaking there.
The following table shows some of the places that might have been affected (or not) by the shaking.

Distance	Place	Max. shaking intensity(*)	Region	Country
207 km (129 mi) SE of epicenter	Tobelo (pop: 10,000)	IV: Light	North Maluku	Indonesia
235 km (146 mi) SW of epicenter	Bitung (pop: 137,400)	IV: Light	North Sulawesi	Indonesia
258 km (160 mi) S of epicenter	Ternate (pop: 101,700)	IV: Light	North Maluku	Indonesia
260 km (162 mi) SW of epicenter	Manado (pop: 451,900)	IV: Light	North Sulawesi	Indonesia
268 km (167 mi) SW of epicenter	Tondano (pop: 33,300)	IV: Light	North Sulawesi	Indonesia
271 km (168 mi) SE of epicenter	Sofifi (pop: 36,200)	IV: Light	North Maluku	Indonesia
276 km (172 mi) SW of epicenter	Tomohon (pop: 27,600)	IV: Light	North Sulawesi	Indonesia
384 km (238 mi) NW of epicenter	General Santos City (pop: 679,600)	III: Weak	South Cotabato, Soccsksargen	Philippines
438 km (272 mi) NW of epicenter	Koronadal (pop: 125,500)	III: Weak	South Cotabato, Soccsksargen	Philippines
482 km (300 mi) SW of epicenter	Gorontalo (pop: 144,200)	III: Weak	Gorontalo	Indonesia

Notes:
(*) Shaking intensity according to the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) and estimated using seismic models.

User-reports for this quake (1)

We received 1 report for this quake.

User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.

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Singapore / not felt

What is Intensity and the Mercalli Intensity Scale?

The amount of shaking that occurs on the surface due to an earthquake is called the intensity. It is commonly measured on the so-called Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) ranging from 1 (not felt) to 10 (extreme shaking), and given in Roman numerals as I,II,...IX, X, and often displayed with color codes ranging from light blue to dark red.
Earthquake intensity depends mainly on the magnitude and depth of the quake as well as the distance from the epicenter: The further away, the less shaking intensity occurs.
Read more about the MMI scale!

Compare Quake Data

Data for the same earthquake as reported by different agencies

The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.

Mag	Depth	Time GMT 2021-07-10	Epicenter	Agency
6.2	23 km 14 mi	00:43:57	Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea	BMKG (Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency of Indonesia)
6.1	80 km 50 mi	00:43:59	Indonesia: MOLUCCA SEA 15 km (9.4 mi) epicenter difference with BMKG	EMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre)
6.1	44 km 28 mi	00:43:56	Indonesia: Molucca Sea 16 km (10.2 mi) epicenter difference with BMKG	USGS (United States Geological Survey)
6.2	26 km 16 mi	00:43:53	Talaud Islands, Indonesia 15 km (9.4 mi) epicenter difference with BMKG	GFZ (German Research Centre for Geosciences)
5.7	10 km 6.2 mi (*)	00:43:52	Indonesia: Near Davao 42 km (26 mi) epicenter difference with BMKG	RENASS (Réseau National de Surveillance Sismique (RéNaSS))
6.2	73 km 45 mi	00:43:58	Indonesia [Sea] 10.7 km (6.6 mi) epicenter difference with BMKG	INGV (Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia)
6.1	64 km 39 mi	00:43:57	Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea 13 km (8.4 mi) epicenter difference with BMKG	GeoAu (Geoscience Australia )
6.2	64 km 40 mi	00:43:00	Indonesia: 347 Km S 23° E of Sarangani (Davao Occidental) 52 km (32 mi) epicenter difference with BMKG	PHIVOLCS (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology)

Notes:
(*) A depth given as 10 km often means that the the depth of the quake could not determined with sufficient accuracy.

Seismograms

Seismic station: Davao, Philippines (DAV/IU network) | Distance from quake: 469 km / 291 mi | Show on map | Station Info

Seismic station Davao, Philippines: vertical movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismogram (vertical component) around time of quake. Thin dotted red line indicates time of quake. Seismic waves arrive some time later, depending on distance. Bandpass filter applied: 0.1-10.0 Hz. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

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Seismic station Davao, Philippines: horizontal (E-W) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismic station Davao, Philippines: horizontal (N-S) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismograms around time of quake, showing horizontal E-W and N-S ground movements. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

Seismic station: Kappang, Sulawesi, Indonesia (KAPI/II network) | Distance from quake: 1174 km / 729 mi | Show on map | Station Info

Seismic station Kappang, Sulawesi, Indonesia: vertical movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismogram (vertical component) around time of quake. Thin dotted red line indicates time of quake. Seismic waves arrive some time later, depending on distance. Bandpass filter applied: 0.02-5.0 Hz. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

Seismic station Kappang, Sulawesi, Indonesia: horizontal (E-W) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismic station Kappang, Sulawesi, Indonesia: horizontal (N-S) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismograms around time of quake.
Top: vertical movement, bottom: horizontal (E-W and N-S) movements. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

Seismic station: Guam, Mariana Islands (GUMO/IU network) | Distance from quake: 2324 km / 1444 mi | Show on map | Station Info

Seismic station Guam, Mariana Islands: vertical movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismogram (vertical component) around time of quake. Thin dotted red line indicates time of quake. Seismic waves arrive some time later, depending on distance. Bandpass filter applied: 0.02-2.0 Hz. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

Seismic station Guam, Mariana Islands: horizontal (E-W) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismic station Guam, Mariana Islands: horizontal (N-S) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismograms around time of quake.
Top: vertical movement, bottom: horizontal (E-W and N-S) movements. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

Seismic station: Charters Towers, Australia (CTAO/IU network) | Distance from quake: 3342 km / 2076 mi | Show on map | Station Info

Seismic station Charters Towers, Australia: vertical movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismogram (vertical component) around time of quake. Thin dotted red line indicates time of quake. Seismic waves arrive some time later, depending on distance. Bandpass filter applied: 0.02-2.0 Hz. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

Seismic station Charters Towers, Australia: horizontal (E-W) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismic station Charters Towers, Australia: horizontal (N-S) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismograms around time of quake.
Top: vertical movement, bottom: horizontal (E-W and N-S) movements. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

Seismic station: Matsushiro, Japan (MAJO/IU network) | Distance from quake: 3915 km / 2433 mi | Show on map | Station Info

Seismic station Matsushiro, Japan: vertical movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismogram (vertical component) around time of quake. Thin dotted red line indicates time of quake. Seismic waves arrive some time later, depending on distance. Bandpass filter applied: 0.02-2.0 Hz. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

Seismic station Matsushiro, Japan: horizontal (E-W) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismic station Matsushiro, Japan: horizontal (N-S) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismograms around time of quake.
Top: vertical movement, bottom: horizontal (E-W and N-S) movements. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

39 aftershocks for this quake

For this strong earthquake, 39 aftershocks have been detected so far. The strongest was a magnitude 5.8 quake that hit 7 minutes after the mainshock in 4.7 km (2.9 mi) distance, in Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea on Saturday, Jul 10, 2021 on 08:51 am (Makassar local time GMT +8).
The most recent aftershock occurred 3 years ago Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea and had a magnitude of 4.4.

What are aftershocks?

Larger earthquakes (above magnitude 5 or so) such as this one are usually followed by smaller ones known as aftershocks that occur in the same area during the days, weeks, months or even years after the main shock.

[More info]

What about this quake?

Based on its magnitude, the fault that was active during the quake likely ruptured beneath a surface of approx. 158 km² (=61 sqare miles) as a first-order estimate. The length of the rupture zone thus was probably around 22 km (14 mi).

[More info]

Recorded aftershocks, latest first (39 quakes)

Date and Time GMT	Mag Depth	Distance	Region	Details
Sep 18, 2021 10:49 pm (Makassar) 3 years ago 10 weeks after main shock	4.4 10 km	5.6 km (3.5 mi) E of main shock	Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea	More
Sep 14, 2021 09:32 pm (GMT +8) 3 years ago 10 weeks after main shock	3.0 10 km	14 km (8.4 mi) SE of main shock	Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea	More
Aug 14, 2021 05:19 am (GMT +8) 3 years ago 5 weeks after main shock	3.5 1 km	13 km (8.3 mi) SE of main shock	Indonesia: 310 Km S 28° E of Sarangani (Davao Occidental)	More
Aug 6, 2021 08:07 am (Makassar) 3 years ago 4 weeks after main shock	3.9 10 km	7.5 km (4.6 mi) SE of main shock	Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea	More
Jul 28, 2021 08:30 pm (GMT +8) 3 years ago 3 weeks after main shock	3.3 31 km	5.7 km (3.5 mi) S of main shock	Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea	More
Jul 24, 2021 10:44 pm (GMT +8) 3 years ago 2 weeks after main shock	3.4 113 km	20 km (13 mi) SW of main shock	Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea	More
Jul 24, 2021 09:07 pm (Makassar) 3 years ago 2 weeks after main shock	5.4 58 km	4.6 km (2.8 mi) E of main shock	Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea	More
Jul 15, 2021 09:00 pm (Makassar) 3 years ago 6 days after main shock	4.7 10 km	27 km (17 mi) E of main shock	Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea	More
Jul 15, 2021 09:00 pm (Makassar) 3 years ago 6 days after main shock	3.8 51 km	18 km (11 mi) E of main shock	Indonesia: 313 Km S 29° E of Sarangani (Davao Occidental)	More
Jul 14, 2021 12:52 am (GMT +8) 3 years ago 4 days after main shock	3.1 10 km	9.4 km (5.9 mi) SE of main shock	Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea	More
Jul 12, 2021 03:16 am (GMT +8) 3 years ago 1 day 19 hours after main shock	3.6 32 km	4.7 km (2.9 mi) NW of main shock	Talaud Islands, Indonesia	More
Jul 12, 2021 12:07 am (Makassar) 3 years ago 1 day 15 hours after main shock	4.3 10 km	9 km (5.6 mi) NE of main shock	Talaud Islands, Indonesia	More
Jul 11, 2021 10:36 am (GMT +8) 3 years ago 1 day 2 hours after main shock	3.2 10 km	9.2 km (5.7 mi) S of main shock	Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea	More
Jul 11, 2021 10:13 am (GMT +8) 3 years ago 1 day 1 hours after main shock	3.6 10 km	10.5 km (6.5 mi) E of main shock	Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea	More
Jul 10, 2021 06:06 pm (Makassar) 3 years ago 9 hours after main shock	4.8 60 km	12 km (7.7 mi) SW of main shock	Indonesia: MOLUCCA SEA	More
Jul 10, 2021 06:04 pm (Makassar) 3 years ago 9 hours after main shock	5.0 10 km	13 km (8.3 mi) E of main shock	Talaud Islands, Indonesia	More
Jul 10, 2021 06:04 pm (GMT +8) 3 years ago 9 hours after main shock	3.5 1 km	23 km (14 mi) NW of main shock	Indonesia: 280 Km S 25° E of Sarangani (Davao Occidental)	More
Jul 10, 2021 05:52 pm (GMT +8) 3 years ago 9 hours after main shock	3.5 10 km	7.9 km (4.9 mi) E of main shock	Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea	More
Jul 10, 2021 05:03 pm (GMT +8) 3 years ago 8 hours after main shock	3.6 28 km	6.8 km (4.2 mi) E of main shock	Talaud Islands, Indonesia	More
Jul 10, 2021 03:58 pm (GMT +8) 3 years ago 7 hours after main shock	3.5 10 km	7.1 km (4.4 mi) SE of main shock	Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea	More
Jul 10, 2021 03:25 pm (Makassar) 3 years ago 7 hours after main shock	3.8 10 km	1.6 km (1 mi) NE of main shock	Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea	More
Jul 10, 2021 03:09 pm (GMT +8) 3 years ago 6 hours after main shock	2.8 10 km	4.6 km (2.8 mi) S of main shock	Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea	More
Jul 10, 2021 02:26 pm (GMT +8) 3 years ago 6 hours after main shock	3.3 12 km	5 km (3.1 mi) SE of main shock	Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea	More
Jul 10, 2021 02:23 pm (GMT +8) 3 years ago 6 hours after main shock	3.4 32 km	7 km (4.4 mi) E of main shock	Talaud Islands, Indonesia	More
Jul 10, 2021 01:47 pm (GMT +8) 3 years ago 5 hours after main shock	3.5 53 km	6 km (3.7 mi) E of main shock	Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea	More
Jul 10, 2021 01:35 pm (GMT +8) 3 years ago 5 hours after main shock	3.4 51 km	6.5 km (4 mi) NE of main shock	Talaud Islands, Indonesia	More
Jul 10, 2021 11:30 am (Makassar) 3 years ago 2 hours and 47 minutes after main shock	4.5 12 km	6 km (3.7 mi) S of main shock	Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea	More
Jul 10, 2021 11:00 am (GMT +8) 3 years ago 2 hours and 17 minutes after main shock	4.0 66 km	17 km (10.5 mi) S of main shock	Indonesia: Molucca Sea	More
Jul 10, 2021 10:33 am (Makassar) 3 years ago 1 hour and 50 minutes after main shock	4.6 69 km	9.7 km (6 mi) S of main shock	199 Km NW of Tobelo, Indonesia	More
Jul 10, 2021 10:30 am (Makassar) 3 years ago 1 hour and 47 minutes after main shock	4.9 10 km	17 km (10.7 mi) E of main shock	Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea	More
Jul 10, 2021 10:26 am (Makassar) 3 years ago 1 hour and 42 minutes after main shock	4.5 65 km	20 km (13 mi) S of main shock	193 Km NW of Tobelo, Indonesia	More
Jul 10, 2021 10:20 am (Makassar) 3 years ago 1 hour and 36 minutes after main shock	4.4 10 km	11 km (7 mi) E of main shock	Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea	More
Jul 10, 2021 09:24 am (GMT +8) 3 years ago 40 minutes after main shock	3.6 10 km	11 km (6.9 mi) E of main shock	Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea	More
Jul 10, 2021 09:19 am (GMT +8) 3 years ago 35 minutes after main shock	4.2 69 km	16 km (10.1 mi) S of main shock	Indonesia: Molucca Sea	More
Jul 10, 2021 09:18 am (Makassar) 3 years ago 34 minutes after main shock	4.1 10 km	13 km (7.9 mi) NE of main shock	Talaud Islands, Indonesia	More
Jul 10, 2021 09:14 am (GMT +8) 3 years ago 30 minutes after main shock	3.6 10 km	12 km (7.2 mi) E of main shock	Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea	More
Jul 10, 2021 09:10 am (Makassar) 3 years ago 27 minutes after main shock	4.0 11 km	4 km (2.5 mi) NE of main shock	Talaud Islands, Indonesia	More
Jul 10, 2021 08:58 am (Makassar) 3 years ago 14 minutes after main shock	5.2 35 km	2.5 km (1.5 mi) NE of main shock	209 Km NW of Tobelo, Indonesia	More
Jul 10, 2021 08:51 am (Makassar) 3 years ago 7 minutes after main shock	5.8 27 km	4.7 km (2.9 mi) SE of main shock	Indonesia: Northern Molucca Sea	More
Jul 10, 2021 08:43 am (Makassar) 3 years ago	6.2 23 km	0 km - This quake	Maluku Sea, 260 km NE of Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia Main Shock (this quake)	More

Show all

Map of aftershocks

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