M5.7 earthquake 131 km NW of Ternate, Indonesia
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 131 km NW of Ternate, Indonesia on Thu, Apr 14, 1988, 11:20 AM GMT+9 (02:20 UTC), 78 km (48 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.9 Halmahera, Indonesia. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.7 (Mw, moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1988-04-14 02:20:02 UTC
- Depth
- 77.9 km (48.4 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 1.742° N, 126.676° E
- Region
- Indonesia
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.7 | Mw, moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.67 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.7 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
CENTROID, MOMENT TENSOR (HRV) Data Used: GDSN L.P.B.: 14S, 33C Centroid Location: Origin Time 02:20: 5.9 0.3 Lat 1.49N 0.04 Lon 126.17E 0.05 Dep 41.3 3.3 Half-duration 2.7 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**17 Nm Mrr=-2.02 0.18 Mtt=1.20 0.16 Mff=0.81 0.30 Mrt=-3.25 0.28 Mrf=1.03 0.23 Mtf=1.37 0.16 Principal Axes: (T) Val=3.39 Plg=27 Azm=162 (N) Val=1.12 Plg=23 Azm=265 (P) Val=-4.51 Plg=53 Azm=29 Best Double Couple:Mo=3.9*10**17 NP1:Strike=210 Dip=27 Slip=-148 NP2:Strike=91 Dip=76 Slip=-67
From the USGS event page for usp0003f0s. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.7 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.9Halmahera, Indonesia · 14044 days ago · 75 km deep · 69 km away
- 4.5Molucca Sea · 14042 days ago · 47 km deep · 19 km away
- 5.0142 km NW of Ternate, Indonesia · 14039 days ago · 73 km deep · 13 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayIndonesia earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0003f0s (also filed as gcmtb041488a, gcmt19880414022002, iscgem440640). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 7:45 AM UTC.