An earthquake of magnitude 7.4 struck in the Northern Molucca Sea off Indonesia's Ternate island on Thursday, damaging some buildings and triggering tsunami waves, authorities and witnesses said. The United States Geological Survey reported aftershocks of magnitude as high as 5, and Indonesia's meteorology agency BMKG reported tsunami waves in West Halmahera at 0.3m high and Bitung at 0.2m high. Hazardous tsunamis were possible along the coasts of Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia within 1,000 km (620 miles) of the epicentre, U.S. tsunami warning authorities said. The epicentre of the quake was roughly 580 km south of the Philippine coast and 1,000 km from Malaysia's Sabah. The Philippines’ seismology agency Phivolcs said there was “no destructive tsunami threat” to the country based on latest data.

Source: The Telegraph April 02, 2026 02:05 UTC