Reviewed by USGSIndonesia54y ago
M6.8 earthquake 198 km WSW of Tual, Indonesia
Sunday, September 24, 1972, 20:09:34 UTC · 6.229°S, 131.061°E
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck 198 km WSW of Tual, Indonesia on Sunday, September 24, 1972, 20:09:34 UTC, at a depth of 9.2 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.9 on September 16, 1971.
- Magnitude
- 6.8
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 9 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: 100 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
239 kilotons of TNT
That is about 16 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 501 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
49 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
9 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 100 km
USGS lists 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.0 on September 24, 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 · 145 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.11963 Banda Sea EarthquakeNovember 4, 1963 · 180 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.7Banda SeaNovember 2, 1950 · 218 km W of this epicenter
- 7.5273 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaJune 3, 1927 · 81 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.1196 km SSE of Ambon, IndonesiaJuly 4, 1914 · 242 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.0188 km SSE of Amahai, IndonesiaJune 9, 1920 · 217 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.9Banda SeaOctober 30, 1909 · 173 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.9265 km SSE of Amahai, IndonesiaJuly 8, 1964 · 160 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 · 181 km away · intensity IX
60 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1763
Bandaneira
12 Sep 1763 · 120 km away · intensity X
7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1710
Bandaneira
6 Mar 1710 · 228 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1938M8.6
New Guinea
1 Feb 1938 · 145 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1890
Bandaneira
23 Nov 1890 · 231 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1963M8.3
Banda Sea
4 Nov 1963 · 178 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.