Earthquakes Indonesia – august 14th-15th 2026
On August 14–15, 2026, a sequence of powerful earthquakes struck Indonesia, including a magnitude 7.7 earthquake north of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara, followed by a magnitude 6.1 event in the same region, and a magnitude 6.9 earthquake in North Sumatra. Indonesia lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, where several major tectonic plates converge, making it one of the world’s most seismically active regions. The strongest events were concentrated around the islands of Flores and Sumatra, with the earthquakes generating significant shaking across surrounding areas. The USGS ShakeMap data indicate varying levels of ground shaking across the affected regions, providing a basis for assessing potential exposure of settlements and cultural heritage sites. The sequence highlights the country’s high seismic vulnerability and the need to assess potential impacts on built heritage and historic sites in areas exposed to the strongest shaking.
INDONESIA
EARTHQUAKE
MAGNITUDE 7.7, 6.1, & 6.9
Heritage Sites within the AOI
This map displays the locations of the earthquakes above magnitude 6.0 recorded in Indonesia on August 14–15, 2026, their modeled ground-shaking intensity zones based on USGS ShakeMap data, and the distribution of cultural heritage sites across Indonesia, compiled from UNESCO World Heritage listings and OpenStreetMap contributions.
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| UNESCO World Heritage sites in Indonesia | 32 |
| OSM Historic and Cultural Sites in Indonesia | 59 154 |
| Total potentially exposed heritage sites | 59 186 |
Heritage Sites
UNESCO Heritage SItes
Cultural places
Heritage Sites Potentially Exposed
This map visualizes the spatial relationship between cultural heritage sites and modeled earthquake ground-shaking intensity zones, categorizing sites according to the intensity band they fall within. The analysis is based on an overlay of USGS ShakeMap intensity bands with standardized heritage point data.
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Sites exposed to MMI ≥ 5 | 1063 |
| Sites exposed to MMI ≥ 6 | 186 |
| Sites exposed to MMI ≥ 7 | 76 |
| Sites exposed to MMI ≥ 8 | 14 |
| Exposure Level | Value |
|---|---|
| Low (<5) | 64 438 |
| Moderate | 877 |
| Very Strong | 62 |
Heritage Exposure by Intensity Gradient
Low
Moderate
High
Very High
Extreme
Imagery Footprint Supporting Post-Earthquake
Heritage Monitoring
This map displays the footprints of high-resolution satellite imagery available over the earthquake-affected areas in Indonesia, filtered by Ground Sampling Distance (GSD ≤ 0.5 m) to ensure suitability for damage assessment. Hovering over a footprint provides details on the imagery provider, price, spatial resolution, cloud cover, and acquisition date.
Categorized by Date (Lighter shades indicate older imagery)
Categorised by Resolution (Lighter shades indicate larger pixel size)