The following is a summary of significant earthquakes during the 21st century. In terms of fatalities, the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was the most destructive event with 227,898 confirmed fatalities, followed by the 2010 Haiti earthquake with about 160,000 fatalities, the 2008 Sichuan earthquake with 87,587 fatalities, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake suffered by Pakistan with 87,351 fatalities, and the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes with at least 59,488 fatalities.
An earthquake occurred on September 2, 2009 at 14:55:01 local time in West Java, Indonesia. The magnitude 7.0 earthquake killed at least 81 people, injured over 1,297, and displaced over 210,000. The quake was felt in the capital Jakarta, although damage there was minimal, and it was Indonesia's deadliest earthquake since the 2006 Pangandaran earthquake and tsunami.
The 2010 Papua earthquake occurred on June 16 at 12:16 local time in Papua province of Indonesia. The magnitude 7.0 mainshock was preceded by an 6.2 foreshock 10 minutes earlier, and was followed 42 minutes later by an Mw 6.6 aftershock.
The 2012 Indian Ocean earthquakes were magnitude 8.6 and 8.2 Mw undersea earthquakes that struck near the Indonesian province of Aceh on 11 April at 15:38 local time. Initially, authorities feared that the initial earthquake would cause a tsunami and warnings were issued across the Indian Ocean; however, these warnings were subsequently cancelled. These were unusually strong intraplate earthquakes and the largest strike-slip earthquake ever recorded.
On 2 July 2013, an earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra on 2 July with a moment magnitude of 6.1 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong). The strike-slip earthquake killed at least 43 people and injured more than 2,500 others in the province of Aceh where approximately 4,300 homes were damaged or destroyed.
The 2016 Ecuador earthquake occurred on April 16 at with a moment magnitude of 7.8 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). The very large thrust earthquake was centered approximately 27 km (17 mi) from the towns of Muisne and Pedernales in a sparsely populated part of the country, and 170 km (110 mi) from the capital Quito, where it was felt strongly. Regions of Manta, Pedernales and Portoviejo accounted for over 75 percent of total casualties. Manta's central commercial shopping district, Tarqui, was completely destroyed. There was widespread damage across Manabí Province, and structures hundreds of kilometres from the epicenter collapsed. At least 676 people were killed and 27,732 people injured. President Rafael Correa declared a state of emergency; 13,500 military personnel and police officers were dispatched for recovery operations.
On 28 September 2018, a shallow, large earthquake struck in the neck of the Minahasa Peninsula, Indonesia, with its epicentre located in the mountainous Donggala Regency, Central Sulawesi. The magnitude 7.5 quake was located 70 km (43 mi) away from the provincial capital Palu and was felt as far away as Samarinda on East Kalimantan and also in Tawau, Malaysia. This event was preceded by a sequence of foreshocks, the largest of which was a magnitude 6.1 tremor that occurred earlier that day.
On 11 October 2018, an earthquake struck off the coast of East Java, Indonesia, with the epicentre located off the coast of Situbondo Regency. The earthquake, which struck at dawn, killed four people in addition to destroying or damaging hundreds of houses, mostly on the small island of Sapudi.
On 4 May 2000 at 12:21 WITA, Banggai Islands Regency was hit by an earthquake of magnitude 7.5 , followed by a tsunami. The Banggai Islands, an archipelago located at the far eastern end of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, was the worst affected by the earthquake. Eighty percent of Banggai's buildings were destroyed. Damage also occurred on Peleng. The earthquake triggered a local tsunami of up to 6 m in height that caused significant damage east of Luwuk on the mainland and on Peleng.
On 17 March 2019, an earthquake measuring Mw 5.6 struck the island of Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. The earthquake triggered a landslide, killing six and injuring nearly 200 others.
The 2019 North Maluku earthquake, a shallow 7.2 magnitude earthquake, struck the island of Halmahera, North Maluku, Indonesia on 14 July 2019 at 18:10 local time with its epicentre located at South Halmahera. It struck at a shallow depth of 10 km (6.2 mi) near Labuha, a small port town located in Bacan Island. The earthquake produced a non-destructive 20 cm tsunami, which struck Labuha just minutes after the shaking started. 14 people were killed by the earthquake while 129 people were injured, and more than 50,000 people were displaced. The earthquake inflicted a total damage of Rp 238 billion.
On 26 September 2019, a strong magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Seram Island in Maluku, Indonesia, near the provincial capital of Ambon. The earthquake struck at 07:46:44 Eastern Indonesia Time 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.
On January 1, 1996, at 4:05 p.m. Central Indonesia Time, an earthquake with an epicenter in the Makassar Strait struck north of Minahasa on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. The earthquake measured 7.9 on the moment magnitude scale and was centered off Tolitoli Regency in Central Sulawesi, or 25 km from the Tonggolobibi village. A tsunami of 2–4 m (6.6–13.1 ft) was triggered by this earthquake as a result. At least 350 buildings were badly damaged, nine people died and 63 people were injured.
A moment magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck Majene Regency in West Sulawesi, Indonesia, on 15 January 2021, at 02:28 WITA. The reverse faulting shock initiated at 18.0 km (11.2 mi) depth with an epicenter inland, located 32 km (20 mi) south of Mamuju. It was preceded by a Mw 5.7 foreshock several hours prior. Shaking from the mainshock was assigned a maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong) in Majene and Mamuju. Four of the five regencies in West Sulawesi were affected. More than 6,000 structures were damaged or destroyed; damage was estimated at Rp829.1 billion rupiah. At least 105 people were confirmed dead; nearly 6,500 were injured and thousands were displaced.
The western coast of West Sulawesi was struck by a major earthquake on 23 February 1969 at 00:36 UTC. It had a magnitude of 7.0 and a maximum felt intensity of VIII on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale. It triggered a major tsunami that caused significant damage along the coast of the Makassar Strait. At least 64 people were killed, with possibly a further 600 deaths caused by the tsunami.
The 1995 Kerinci earthquake struck near Sungai Penuh in Jambi Province on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. It earthquake occurred at 01:18 WIB local time on October 7. The earthquake measured 6.7 on the moment magnitude scale, and 6.9–7.0 on the surface wave magnitude scale. Between 84 and possibly even 100 people were killed in the earthquake. An extimated 4,000 buildings collapsed or were seriously damaged while a further 5,000 suffered some damage.
An earthquake occurred 112 km, offshore, north of Maumere in the Flores Sea on 14 December. The quake had a moment magnitude of 7.3 according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). One person was killed and 173 others suffered injuries.
On 29 November, at 14:10 UTC, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off the southern coast of Taliabu Island Regency in North Maluku, Indonesia. At least 41 people were killed on the nearby islands and a tsunami was triggered. Several hundred homes, buildings and offices were damaged or destroyed.
On 11 September 2022, an earthquake of moment magnitude 7.6–7.7 struck Papua New Guinea, in the northern part of Morobe Province. The normal faulting earthquake occurred with a hypocenter depth of 116.0 km (72.1 mi) beneath the Finisterre Range. A maximum perceived Modified Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe) was estimated. Shaking was widely felt across the country and even in neighbouring Indonesia. At least 21 people died and 42 were injured, mostly due to landslides.
