PUBLISHED ONApril 02, 2026 12:13 AMUPDATEDApril 03, 2026 10:53 AMBYSean LerA powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck the Molucca Sea — about 12km to the northwest of North Maluku province in Indonesia — on Thursday (April 2) morning.
According to the US Geological Service (USGS), the quake happened at about 6.48am, at a depth of 35km.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) in Hawaii said in a message at 7.27am that tsunami waves have been observed.
It added that some coasts of Indonesia may see tsunami waves reaching 0.3 to 1m.
NOAA also said waves of less than 0.3m may be seen along the coasts of Japan, Malaysia, Philippines and Taiwan.
The warning was later lifted by PTWC after over two hours.
Indonesian broadcaster Metro TV reported one person had died from falling rubble in the Manado area and video showed damaged buildings.
A Manado resident told Reuters that people ran out of their houses in panic. There was no visible damage in her neighbourhood, but items fell off shelves and power had been cut.
@asiaone The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center warned of a risk of waves less than 0.3 m over tide levels for the coasts of Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, Guam and Papua New Guinea. #news #asia #disaster #earthquake #tsunami ♬ original sound - AsiaOne
In a high alert advisory issued by the National Environment Agency (NEA) at 7.19am, the agency said there were no immediate reports of tremors in Singapore.
It added that while a local tsunami may be generated near the epicentre, Singapore is "unlikely to be affected" by a tsunami.
Indonesia straddles the Pacific Ring of Fire, a highly seismically active zone, where different plates on the earth's crust meet and create a large number of earthquakes and volcanoes.
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