An illustrative map showing the epicentre of the earthquake near Indonesian mainland. Photo: earthquake.usgs.gov
A 6.2 magnitude quake struck off eastern Indonesia on Friday (July 3, 2026), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said, with no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
The jolt struck at a depth of 120 kilometres, around 58 kilometres west of Tobelo, in North Maluku province at 11:31 local time (0231 GMT).
“I was sitting and having coffee at a roadside coffee stall when suddenly my chair started rocking. I panicked for a moment because I’m still traumatised by the past earthquakes,” Umar Abbas, a resident of Ternate, around 114 kilometres away from the epicentre, told AFP.
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said there was no threat of a tsunami.
Indonesia and neighbouring countries experience frequent earthquakes due to their location in the Pacific “Ring of Fire” — an arc of intense seismic activity stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
Published – July 03, 2026 09:37 am IST
