Reviewed by USGS62y ago
M8.2 earthquake 1965 Ceram Sea Earthquake
Sunday, January 24, 1965, 00:11:17 UTC · 2.633°S, 125.961°E
A magnitude 8.2 earthquake struck 1965 Ceram Sea Earthquake on Sunday, January 24, 1965, 00:11:17 UTC, at a depth of 28.3 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 8.2
- Great · mw
- Depth
- 28 km
- Shallow
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 400 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
30 megatons of TNT
That is about 1,998 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 63,096 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
181 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Molucca Sea and Banda Sea plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
28 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 400 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 400 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.6 on January 24, 1965. 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 35 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.1124 km WNW of Ambon, IndonesiaMarch 1, 1948 · 149 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1197 km SSE of Sofifi, IndonesiaApril 16, 1963 · 298 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.1170 km WNW of Ambon, IndonesiaJune 9, 1938 · 105 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1204 km SSE of Sofifi, IndonesiaApril 16, 1963 · 291 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0114 km NW of Ambon, IndonesiaAugust 29, 1919 · 165 km E of this epicenter
- 6.7236 km WNW of Ambon, IndonesiaAugust 3, 1926 · 39 km E of this epicenter
- 6.6121 km NW of Ambon, IndonesiaJuly 29, 1942 · 174 km E of this epicenter
- 6.560 km WSW of Ambon, IndonesiaFebruary 9, 1960 · 248 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 19 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,536 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1899M7.8
Banda Sea
29 Sep 1899 · 285 km away
2,460 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1965M7.6
Sanana Island
24 Jan 1965 · 30 km away
71 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1754M6.5
Ambon Island
18 Aug 1754 · 298 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1950M7.6
Seram
8 Oct 1950 · 290 km away
1 deathSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1859M7.3
Sulawesi
29 Jul 1859 · 298 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1841M6.0
Banda Sea
16 Dec 1841 · 229 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.