M 5.2 Earthquake 44 km ESE of Palu, Indonesia
Areazine synthesizes this USGS earthquake report directly from USGS's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
A magnitude 5.2 mb earthquake occurred 44 km ESE of Palu, Indonesia on May 16, 2026 at 12:50 UTC.
What this USGS earthquake report tells you, and what most readers miss
This notice was issued by USGS on July 10, 2026 and geographically references Indonesia. Its severity classification of "medium" signals how the issuing agency weighs the risk of harm if no action is taken - "critical" and "high" tier alerts typically carry direct consumer actions, while "medium" and "low" tend toward informational guidance or monitoring advisories. The category it belongs to - Earthquakes - determines the monitoring protocol behind it, which shapes what follow-up action (checking for structural damage, watching for aftershocks, reviewing local building codes) is relevant and which agency holds authority over the assessment.
Most readers skim a notice like this, check whether they are personally affected, and move on. The more useful lens is to verify its scope, source, and timestamp, then compare related notices without assuming that one record proves a broader trend.
Areazine pairs this record with the original agency URL so you can check the primary source before acting. Its related labels are earthquake, seismic, usgs, Indonesia.
What Happened
A M 5.2 mb earthquake struck 44 km ESE of Palu, Indonesia at 12:50:53 UTC on May 16, 2026 (Unix time 1781580653802). The event was recorded at latitude -1.1104, longitude 120.2135 with a depth of 10 km.
Location Details
The earthquake was centered 44 km east-southeast of Palu, Indonesia at coordinates -1.1104, 120.2135. A depth of 10 km is classified as shallow (less than 20 km).
Impact Assessment
No felt reports, tsunami advisory, or alert level data were available for this event. The tsunami flag was recorded as 0.
What You Should Know
Earthquakes of this magnitude are classified as moderate. Minor aftershocks remain possible following any seismic event.
Source
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us7000st96 (USGS)
Original source: USGS Official Notice ↗
Related Earthquakes
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Two Areazine-derived peer sets for this USGS earthquake report: nearest notices by body length and by same severity near the same agency date. Peers come from other categories so they are not the same-feed Related list above.
Similar body length
Nearest notices by article body length (772 characters here).
Similar severity timing
Same severity (medium) notices issued closest in time to July 10, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this USGS earthquake report.