Magnitude 5.0 earthquake strikes near Galela, North Halmahera Regency, North Maluku, Indonesia

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake near Galela, North Halmahera Regency, North Maluku, Indonesia, was reported only 23 minutes ago by the United States Geological Survey, considered one of the key international agencies that monitor seismic activity worldwide. The earthquake occurred at a moderately shallow depth of 44.94 km beneath the epicenter in the afternoon on Monday, February 9th, 2026, at 5:30 pm local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
Our monitoring service identified a second report from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) which listed the quake at magnitude 4.4. Other agencies reporting the same quake include The Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) at magnitude 5.0, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) at magnitude 5.0, Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency at magnitude 4.6, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) at magnitude 5.0, and the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake at magnitude 4.6.
Generally quakes of this magnitude are recorded by more than one agency and the results can vary, with subsequent reports that come in after the first one often showing more accuracy.
Towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Galela (pop. 8,800) located 123 km from the epicenter.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.


Earthquake data:
Date & time: Feb 9, 2026 05:30 pm (GMT +9) local time (9 Feb 2026 08:30 GMT)
Magnitude: 5.0
Depth: 44.94 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 2.32°N / 126.8°E (Indonesia)
Primary data source: USGS
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquake/news/294360/Magnitude-50-earthquake-strikes-near-Galela-North-Halmahera-Regency-North-Maluku-Indonesia.html