JAKARTA, Indonesia — A powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck Indonesian waters early Thursday, generating small tsunami waves and claiming at least one life while damaging buildings across multiple coastal areas, according to government officials.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported the tremor originated in the Molucca Sea at a depth of 35 kilometers (22 miles).
Within 30 minutes of the earthquake, tsunami waves reached several coastal monitoring points, with Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency documenting wave heights of 20 centimeters (8 inches) in Bitung and 30 centimeters (a foot) in West Halmahera.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu detected 5-centimeter (2-inch) waves reaching Davao in the southern Philippines, though officials determined there was no danger to more distant coastal regions approximately three hours following the initial tremor.
Residents in Bitung, a coastal community in North Sulawesi province, experienced intense shaking for 10 to 20 seconds, with similar tremors felt in surrounding areas and Ternate city in neighboring North Maluku province, Indonesia’s Disaster Management Agency reported.
Early damage reports from Ternate revealed light to moderate destruction, with local emergency officials noting one church in the Batang Dua Island district was impacted and two residential structures sustained damage in South Ternate. Damage evaluation efforts continued in Bitung, the agency stated.
Indonesia’s Search and Rescue Agency confirmed a 70-year-old woman perished in North Sulawesi’s Minahasa district, with another person sustaining injuries.
“At this stage, caution is still required, particularly for communities living along the coast,” said Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari in an official statement. He advised coastal residents to avoid returning to beaches or shoreline areas until authorities provide an official safety clearance.
Officials recorded at least two aftershocks following the primary earthquake, both occurring offshore. Authorities determined neither secondary tremor posed tsunami risks, though residents in impacted areas felt the ground movement.
“We had just woken up and suddenly the earthquake hit… we all ran out of the house,” said Bitung resident Marten Mandagi. “The shaking was very strong.”
Mandagi reported no visible damage in his immediate vicinity. “We’re still checking whether there is damage or not. But here we are safe, there are no casualties or destruction,” he explained.
Indonesia, a sprawling island nation home to over 280 million people, lies along major geological fault lines and regularly experiences seismic activity and volcanic events.
