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A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck the northern Molucca Sea near Indonesia’s historic spice island of Ternate on Thursday, according to the United States Geological Survey. This quake prompted a tsunami warning for neighboring Southeast Asian countries. No immediate injuries were reported, but aftershocks reaching up to magnitude 5 were felt. Indonesia has issued tsunami advisories for parts of North Maluku and North Sulawesi provinces.
Local authorities in Ternate and Tidore, the former spice islands, have been advised to prepare residents for potential evacuations. Images broadcasted on Metro TV showed damage to buildings in affected areas. The USGS revised the quake’s initial magnitude from 7.8 down to 7.4 and indicated it occurred at a depth of 35 kilometers (about 22 miles), deeper than the earlier estimate of 10 kilometers (6 miles).
The quake’s epicenter was approximately 120 kilometers (75 miles) from Ternate, a city with a population of over 200,000. Tsunami threats extend to the coasts of Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia within 620 miles (1,000 km) of the epicenter. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center predicts waves between 0.3 meters and 1 meter (roughly 1 to 3 feet) could impact some Indonesian coastal regions, while smaller waves under 0.3 meters (about 1 foot) might reach the shores of Guam, Japan, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and Taiwan.
Japan’s meteorological agency warned that waves up to 0.2 meters (around 8 inches) are possible, but no damage is expected. Indonesia’s location along the Pacific Ring of Fire—an area of significant seismic activity where tectonic plates converge—means earthquakes are frequent in the region.
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