Strong tremor strikes Molucca Sea region
A powerful magnitude 7.4 undersea earthquake struck northern Indonesia on Thursday, damaging buildings, prompting residents to flee into the streets and triggering a brief tsunami warning. Authorities confirmed that at least one person was killed and several others were injured.
The quake’s epicenter was located in the Molucca Sea, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Strong shaking lasting between 10 and 20 seconds was reported in Bitung in North Sulawesi province and in Ternate in neighboring North Maluku.
Small tsunami waves recorded
Monitoring stations detected waves reaching up to 30 inches above normal tide levels roughly 30 minutes after the tremor. Indonesia’s meteorological agency initially issued a tsunami warning but lifted it hours later as the threat subsided.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu said minor sea level fluctuations were possible in Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Papua New Guinea. No threat was reported for Hawaii, Guam or other distant territories.
Casualties and structural damage
Indonesia’s Search and Rescue Agency reported that a 70-year-old woman died when a building collapsed in Manado, North Sulawesi. Another resident in the same area was injured. In Ternate, at least three people were hospitalized.
Preliminary assessments indicated light to severe structural damage in parts of Ternate, including a church and two homes. Officials in Bitung were still evaluating the extent of destruction.
Video footage released by authorities showed flattened houses and cracked walls, while television broadcasts captured residents gathering in open areas to avoid falling debris. Nearly 50 aftershocks were recorded in the hours following the initial quake.
Residents recount sudden shaking
Marten Mandagi, a resident of Bitung, described the moment the earthquake struck. “We had just woken up and suddenly the earthquake hit… we all ran out of the house,” he said. “The shaking was very strong.”
Mandagi added that his immediate neighborhood appeared largely intact. “We’re still checking whether there is damage or not. But here we are safe, there are no casualties or destruction,” he said.
Region prone to seismic disasters
Indonesia, home to more than 280 million people, lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an area characterized by intense seismic and volcanic activity. Earthquakes and eruptions are frequent due to the movement of major tectonic plates beneath the archipelago.
In 2022, a magnitude 5.6 earthquake in Cianjur, West Java, killed at least 602 people. Earlier, in 2018, a powerful quake and tsunami in Sulawesi claimed more than 4,300 lives. The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake triggered a catastrophic tsunami that killed over 230,000 people across multiple countries, with Indonesia’s Aceh province suffering the highest toll.
Authorities continue to assess damage and monitor seismic activity in the affected areas.