On 26 September 2019, a strong magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck

Seram Island Seram (formerly spelled Ceram; also Seran or Serang) is the largest and main island of Maluku province of Indonesia, despite Ambon Island's historical importance. It is located just north of the smaller Ambon Island and a few other adjacent ...

in Maluku,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, near the provincial capital of

Ambon Ambon may refer to: Places * Ambon Island, an island in Indonesia ** Ambon, Maluku, a city on Ambon Island, the capital of Maluku province ** Governorate of Ambon, a colony of the Dutch East India Company from 1605 to 1796 * Ambon, Morbihan, a co ...

. The earthquake struck at 07:46:44 Eastern Indonesia Time (23:46:44 on 25 September UTC) with a shallow depth of 18 km. The tremor could be felt throughout the island, with an intensity of very strong (VII) reportedly felt in the provincial capital of Ambon. In the aftermath of the quake, severe damages were reported throughout the island. More than 6,000 structures were damaged or destroyed throughout Maluku. A total of 41 people were killed by the quake and another 1,578 people were injured. More than 150,000 people evacuated and set makeshift camps due to aftershocks and fear of building collapse. As of 6 October, more than a week after the earthquake, approximately 1,105 aftershocks had been recorded by local geological stations in Maluku.

Earthquake

According to the Indonesian

Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency ( id, Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika, abbreviated BMKG) is an Indonesian non-departmental government agency for meteorology, climatology, and geophysics. History Its history began ...

(BMKG), the earthquake's

epicenter The epicenter, epicentre () or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates. Surface damage Before the instrumental pe ...

was located inland of

Seram Island Seram (formerly spelled Ceram; also Seran or Serang) is the largest and main island of Maluku province of Indonesia, despite Ambo