Panic in the streets and collapsed buildings. Strong earthquake in Indonesia

Indonesia was hit by a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 on the Richter scale. The epicenter of the tremors was recorded on Thursday, April 2, at 6:48 a.m. local time, approximately 127 km northwest of the island of Ternate, in the province of North Maluku. According to witnesses, people fled in panic from the buildings that were collapsing before their eyes. Although initially it was reported that there were no fatalities, one person was ultimately confirmed dead. Authorities were also concerned about the possibility of a tsunami.

Earthquake in Indonesia

On Thursday morning (02/04/2026), an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 occurred in the northern part of the Moluccan Sea in Indonesia, at a depth of about 35 kilometers. The city most affected by the disaster turned out to be inhabited by approximately 200,000 people. people the city of Ternate located on the island of the same name. Strong tremors lasting ten to twenty seconds were also felt in the slightly smaller town of Bitung on the northeastern tip of Sulawesi.

In the city of Manado in North Sulawesi province, a building collapsed during the earthquake, killing a 70-year-old woman. As one of the residents reported in an interview with Reuters, people ran out of their homes in panic.

Damage was also confirmed in other locations. At the moment, it is known that the damage included: a church in the Batang Dua Island district, as well as several houses in the south of Ternates.

The tsunami threat has passed

After the first tremors, the eastern part of the country was at risk of a tsunami. The US tsunami warning system initially warned of waves that could occur along the coasts of Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia up to 1,000 kilometers from the quake’s epicenter. In Indonesia alone, waves were expected to be 0.3 to 1 meter above high tide.

Ultimately, authorities lifted the tsunami warning about two hours after the earthquake. According to The Guardian, according to the Indonesian meteorological agency BMKG, tsunami waves were recorded in five locations. The highest of them, in the province of North Sulawesi, was 0.75 meters. “A total of 11 aftershocks were recorded, the largest of which had a magnitude of 5.5,” we read.

Indonesia is one of the most seismically active places in the world.