QuakeScout
Magnitude8.1

Reviewed by USGS63y ago

M8.1 earthquake 1963 Banda Sea Earthquake

Monday, November 4, 1963, 01:17:13 UTC · 6.957°S, 129.605°E

A magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck 1963 Banda Sea Earthquake on Monday, November 4, 1963, 01:17:13 UTC, at a depth of 110.0 km (intermediate). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.

Magnitude
8.1
Great · mw
Depth
110 km
Intermediate
Felt reports
0
Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking
VII
Very strong (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert
None
Not issued
Tsunami
No flag
USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

21 megatons of TNT

That is about 1,415 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 44,668 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

53 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Banda Sea and Timor plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: intermediate

110 km

Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.

Did You Feel It?

Where it was felt

No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.

I felt it — report to USGS ↗

USGS PAGER estimate

Who was exposed to shaking

USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.

After the main event

Aftershocks within 400 km

USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 400 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 32 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.7Banda SeaNovember 2, 1950 · 49 km W of this epicenter
  2. 7.5273 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaJune 3, 1927 · 108 km E of this epicenter
  3. 7.3145 km NNE of Lospalos, Timor LesteAugust 30, 1917 · 223 km W of this epicenter
  4. 7.258 km ENE of Lospalos, Timor LesteSeptember 29, 1905 · 278 km SW of this epicenter
  5. 7.1196 km SSE of Ambon, IndonesiaJuly 4, 1914 · 203 km N of this epicenter
  6. 7.1186 km NE of Lospalos, Timor LesteMay 15, 1962 · 159 km W of this epicenter
  7. 7.0188 km SSE of Amahai, IndonesiaJune 9, 1920 · 230 km N of this epicenter
  8. 6.9Banda SeaOctober 30, 1909 · 7 km NE of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 14 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 67 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1852M8.3

    Maluku: Bandanaira

    25 Nov 1852 · 190 km away · intensity IX

    60 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  2. 1763

    Bandaneira

    12 Sep 1763 · 115 km away · intensity X

    7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1710

    Bandaneira

    6 Mar 1710 · 272 km away · intensity IX

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  4. 1890

    Bandaneira

    23 Nov 1890 · 275 km away · intensity VII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  5. 1963M8.3

    Banda Sea

    4 Nov 1963 · 11 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)

  6. 1852M7.0

    Bandaneira

    24 Dec 1852 · 239 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers

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