SERAM, Indonesia — A shallow earthquake struck at sea off Seram Island in Indonesia's eastern Maluku province on Monday, November 9, at 09:48 UTC — 18:48 local time in the Asia/Jayapura time zone — and was felt lightly on land, according to the two agencies that recorded it. No tsunami warning was issued, and no casualties or damage had been reported in either agency's reporting at the time of publication.
Source: QuakeWire (BMKG data), Nov 9 2026
Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) measured the earthquake at magnitude 5.5, locating it 20 kilometres northwest of Seram Bagian Timur — East Seram regency — at a depth of just 10 kilometres, which seismologists class as shallow. Its epicentre was at sea, at 2.93 degrees south and 130.44 degrees east, and BMKG's shake map recorded weak-to-light shaking of MMI III-IV in Kecamatan Bula, the district on Seram's northern coast. BMKG's figures had been revised once since its first report.
Source: QuakeWire (BMKG shake map and official report), Nov 9 2026
Two agencies, two magnitudes — same earthquake
The US Geological Survey (USGS) recorded the same 09:48 UTC event at magnitude 5.2 (body-wave magnitude), placing its epicentre 162 kilometres east of Masohi, the town on Seram's southern coast, at 3.055 degrees south and 130.410 degrees east and at the same shallow depth of 10 kilometres. Different magnitude scales and station networks routinely produce readings a few tenths apart for the same earthquake; both agencies agree on the time, the shallow depth and the Seram Sea location east of the island.
Source: Earthquake Today (USGS telemetry, event us7000tx32), Nov 9 2026
Five minutes later, at 09:53 UTC, USGS recorded a second tremor of magnitude 4.8 in the same area, 183 kilometres east of Masohi at 10 kilometres depth and reviewed by a seismologist, according to the USGS event data. Whether the 4.8 tremor was an aftershock of the first event had not been formally stated by either agency at the time of publication.
Source: Earthquake Today (USGS telemetry, event us7000tx34), Nov 9 2026
No tsunami threat, no damage reported yet
No tsunami warning, watch or advisory was issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center or the USGS for the magnitude 5.2 event, Earthquake Today reported from the USGS feed. At the time that page was compiled there were no felt reports submitted from the public, and neither the BMKG-based reporting nor the USGS-based reporting carried any account of casualties, injuries or building damage. Awaaz Punjab reports that as the position in the sources checked on Monday evening Jayapura time — not as a final all-clear, which only Indonesian local authorities can give.
Source: Earthquake Today (USGS / PTWC), Nov 9 2026
Shallow earthquakes release their energy close to the surface and are usually felt more strongly than deeper ones of the same size. A magnitude in the low-to-mid 5s can damage poorly constructed buildings, while well-built structures usually escape with little harm — which is why the first local reports from East Seram and the Bula coast will matter more than the instrument readings alone.
Source: QuakeWire (BMKG data), Nov 9 2026
What is solid
- An earthquake occurred at 09:48 UTC on Nov 9 at sea near Seram Island, Maluku, at 10 km depth (both BMKG and USGS)
- Shaking of MMI III-IV (weak to light) was recorded in Kecamatan Bula (BMKG shake map)
- No tsunami warning, watch or advisory was issued for the event (USGS / PTWC via Earthquake Today)
- A magnitude 4.8 tremor followed at 09:53 UTC in the same area (USGS)
What is only claimed
- Magnitude: BMKG reports 5.5 (moment magnitude); USGS reports 5.2 (body-wave magnitude) for the same event — Awaaz Punjab carries both readings with their agencies
- Casualties and damage: none reported in the agency reporting checked — this is an absence of reports in the first hour, not a confirmed final toll
A restless Ring of Fire day
Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where several tectonic plates meet, and Maluku's Seram Sea is one of its most frequently shaken corners. Monday's Seram tremor came on a day when agencies had already recorded a magnitude 6.4 earthquake near Lata in the Solomon Islands and a magnitude 5.7 quake off Hasaki, Japan — both also without reported casualties — underlining how routine, and how closely watched, mid-size shallow quakes are across the western Pacific.
Source: QuakeWire (BMKG data), Nov 9 2026
What happens next
Indonesian authorities and BMKG will update the event as field reports come in from East Seram, and further aftershocks are possible in the same area after a shallow quake of this size. Residents near the coast should follow BMKG and local disaster-agency (BPBD) guidance rather than social-media forwards. Awaaz Punjab will update this story if Indonesian officials report damage, injuries or a revised magnitude.