QuakeScout
Magnitude5.7

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia55y ago

M5.7 earthquake 153 km W of Tual, Indonesia

Thursday, September 30, 1971, 11:15:57 UTC · 5.524°S, 131.372°E

A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 153 km W of Tual, Indonesia on Thursday, September 30, 1971, 11:15:57 UTC, at a depth of 41.4 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.9 on September 16, 1971.

Magnitude
5.7
Moderate · mw
Depth
41 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 earthquake

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

5 kilotons of TNT

That is about 1/3 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 10 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

125 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Banda Sea and Timor plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: shallow

41 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 81 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.51938 Banda Sea EarthquakeFebruary 1, 1938 · 60 km NE of this epicenter
  2. 8.11963 Banda Sea EarthquakeNovember 4, 1963 · 252 km SW of this epicenter
  3. 7.7Banda SeaNovember 2, 1950 · 282 km SW of this epicenter
  4. 7.5273 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaJune 3, 1927 · 164 km SW of this epicenter
  5. 7.1152 km NNE of Tual, IndonesiaFebruary 15, 1936 · 251 km NE of this epicenter
  6. 7.1196 km SSE of Ambon, IndonesiaJuly 4, 1914 · 251 km W of this epicenter
  7. 7.0188 km SSE of Amahai, IndonesiaJune 9, 1920 · 205 km W of this epicenter
  8. 6.9Banda SeaOctober 30, 1909 · 245 km SW of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 15 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 · 182 km away · intensity IX

    60 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  2. 1763

    Bandaneira

    12 Sep 1763 · 161 km away · intensity X

    7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1710

    Bandaneira

    6 Mar 1710 · 197 km away · intensity IX

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  4. 1938M8.6

    New Guinea

    1 Feb 1938 · 60 km away · intensity VI

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  5. 1890

    Bandaneira

    23 Nov 1890 · 199 km away · intensity VII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  6. 1963M8.3

    Banda Sea

    4 Nov 1963 · 248 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)

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

Nearby trackers

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