Reviewed by USGSIndonesia54y ago
M5.6 earthquake 193 km WSW of Tual, Indonesia
Saturday, October 14, 1972, 02:10:57 UTC · 6.435°S, 131.197°E
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 193 km WSW of Tual, Indonesia on Saturday, October 14, 1972, 02:10:57 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.0 on September 24, 1972.
- Magnitude
- 5.6
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 35 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
4 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/4 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 9 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
26 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: shallow
35 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
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 75 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.8 on November 2, 1972. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 87 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.51938 Banda Sea EarthquakeFebruary 1, 1938 · 161 km N of this epicenter
- 8.11963 Banda Sea EarthquakeNovember 4, 1963 · 185 km W of this epicenter
- 7.7Banda SeaNovember 2, 1950 · 227 km W of this epicenter
- 7.5273 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaJune 3, 1927 · 79 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.1196 km SSE of Ambon, IndonesiaJuly 4, 1914 · 267 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.0188 km SSE of Amahai, IndonesiaJune 9, 1920 · 244 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.9Banda SeaOctober 30, 1909 · 179 km W of this epicenter
- 6.9265 km SSE of Amahai, IndonesiaJuly 8, 1964 · 184 km NW 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:
- 1852M8.3
Maluku: Bandanaira
25 Nov 1852 · 207 km away · intensity IX
60 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1763
Bandaneira
12 Sep 1763 · 141 km away · intensity X
7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1710
Bandaneira
6 Mar 1710 · 256 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1938M8.6
New Guinea
1 Feb 1938 · 161 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1890
Bandaneira
23 Nov 1890 · 259 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1963M8.3
Banda Sea
4 Nov 1963 · 185 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.