Light magnitude 3.9 earthquake at 203 km depth21 Aug 02:17 UTC: First to report: BMKG after 5 minutes.I didn't feel itI felt this quakeEarthquake detailsDate & timeAug 21, 2026 02:12:26 UTC - Local time at epicenterFriday, Aug 21, 2026, at 11:12 am (Asia/Jayapura GMT +9)Statusconfirmed (manually revised)Magnitude3.9Depth203 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude2.75°N / 128.55°EKabupaten Pulau Morotai, North Maluku, IndonesiaSeismic antipode2.75°S / 51.45°WBrazilShaking intensityNot feltPrimary data sourceBMKG (Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency of Indonesia)Nearest volcanoTarakan (130 km / 81 mi)Weather at epicenter at time of quakeOvercast Clouds 26.8°C (80 F), humidity: 75%, wind: 4 m/s (8 kts) from WSWEstimated seismic energy released4.5 x 1010 joules (12.4 megawatt hours, equivalent to 10.7 tons of TNT) | equivalent to ONE quake of magnitude 3.9 | about seismic energy16 minutes agoAug 21, 2026 02:12 GMT / Aug 21, 2026 11:12 am (Jayapura time)Lat / Lng: 2.75 / 128.55: Halmahera, IndonesiaSource: BMKGOther sources: RaspberryShake: 3.9 / 203 km, EMSC: 3.9 / 203 km, 1 more...Detail info | You felt it? - Report it!';storedMarkers.push(['quake-23299845',2.75000,128.55000,'16 minutes ago: Mag. 3.9, Halmahera, Indonesia',html,'quakes-5-24.png',18,18,9,9,124]); function mkRep(id,notFelt){var nFelt=notFelt||false;var src="https://www.volcanoesandearthquakes.com/app/earthquake-report.php?quakeId="+id;if(nFelt==true){src+="¬Felt=true";}window.open(src,"","status=0,toolbar=0,location=0,directories=0,menubar=0,resizable=1,scrollbars=1,height=400,width=350");} function locationHashChanged(e){-1!=e.oldURL.indexOf("#popupMap")&&closePopup()} window.onhashchange = locationHashChanged; function comment(e){var t=e.parentNode,a=(t.dataset.id,document.getElementById("commentForm"));"none"==a.style.display?(t.appendChild(a),a.style.display="block"):a.style.display="none"}function sendComment(e){var t=e.parentNode,a=t.parentNode.dataset.id,n=document.getElementById("commentContent"),p=n.value.trim();if(p){var o="id="+a+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId;o+="&comment="+decodeURIComponent(p),mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",o,function(e){e.responseText;alert("Thank you for submitting your comment!"),t.style.display="none",n.value=""})}}function flagReport(e){var t=e.parentNode.dataset.id;if(confirm("Report this as inappropriate?")){var a="id="+t+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId+"&flagAsInappropriate=1";mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",a,function(t){var a=t.responseText;alert(a),e.style.display="none"})}}function likeReport(e){var t="id="+e.parentNode.dataset.id+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId+"&like=1";mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",t,function(t){t.responseText;e.style.opacity=.5})}]]>[smaller] [bigger]Most recent quakes Top 20 past 24 hrs Quakes in BaliNearby placesThe closest larger town near the epicenter is Daruba, a town with 24,000 inhabitants in Indonesia, in 83 km (52 mi) distance to the south, but it is unlikely that the quake was felt there. DistancePlaceMax. shaking intensity(*)RegionCountry83 km (52 mi)S of epicenterDaruba(pop: 23,600)I: Not feltKabupaten Pulau Morotai, North MalukuIndonesia129 km (80 mi)SW of epicenterTobelo(pop: 34,200)I: Not feltKabupaten Halmahera Utara, North MalukuIndonesia133 km (83 mi)SW of epicenterGalela(pop: 8,760)I: Not feltKabupaten Halmahera Utara, North MalukuIndonesia230 km (143 mi)S of epicenterMaba(pop: 12,600)I: Not feltEast Halmahera Regency, North MalukuIndonesia250 km (155 mi)SW of epicenterSofifi(pop: 36,200)I: Not feltKota Tidore Kepulauan, North MalukuIndonesia254 km (158 mi)SW of epicenterTernate(pop: 204,900)I: Not feltNorth MalukuIndonesiaNotes:(*) Shaking intensity according to the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) and estimated using seismic models.User-reports for this quakeThere are no user reports for this quake yet.If you felt it, be the first to report it!Get the Android appCompare Quake DataData for the same earthquake as reported by different agenciesThe 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.MagDepthTime GMT2026-08-21EpicenterAgency3.9203 km126 mi02:12:26Halmahera, IndonesiaBMKG (Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency of Indonesia)3.9203 km126 mi02:12:26Halmahera, Indonesia0 km (0 mi) epicenter difference with BMKGRaspberryShake (RaspberryShake)3.9203 km126 mi02:12:26HALMAHERA, INDONESIA0 km (0 mi) epicenter difference with BMKGEMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre)4.025 km16 mi02:12:00497 km S 46° E of Balut Island (Municipality Of Sarangani) (Davao Occidental)54 km (34 mi) epicenter difference with BMKGPHIVOLCS (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology)Earthquake statisticsAverage number of earthquakesBased on data from the past 26 years and our earthquake archive back to 1900, there are about 169 quakes on average per year in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi):Mag. 7 or higher: 0.02 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 62.5 years)Mag. 6 or higher: 0.27 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 3.8 years)Mag. 5 or higher: 4.8 quakes per yearMag. 4 or higher: 80 quakes per year (or 6.7 quakes per month)Mag. 3 or higher: 154 quakes per year (or 12.8 quakes per month)Mag. 2 or higher: 169 quakes per year (or 14.1 quakes per month)The area where this quake occurred has a very high level of seismic activity. It has had at least 2 quakes above magnitude 7 since 1900, which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently, probably on average approximately every 60 to 65 years.Number of quakes per yearPrevious quakes in the same area of this earthquake