Reviewed by USGSIndonesia62y ago
M5.6 earthquake 270 km WNW of Ambon, Indonesia
Sunday, January 24, 1965, 02:31:18 UTC · 2.600°S, 126.004°E
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 270 km WNW of Ambon, Indonesia on Sunday, January 24, 1965, 02:31:18 UTC, at a depth of 11.9 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M8.2 on January 24, 1965.
- Magnitude
- 5.6
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 12 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- V
- Moderate (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
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
177 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
12 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 36 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.21965 Ceram Sea EarthquakeJanuary 24, 1965 · 6 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.1124 km WNW of Ambon, IndonesiaMarch 1, 1948 · 147 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1197 km SSE of Sofifi, IndonesiaApril 16, 1963 · 292 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.1170 km WNW of Ambon, IndonesiaJune 9, 1938 · 103 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1204 km SSE of Sofifi, IndonesiaApril 16, 1963 · 285 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0114 km NW of Ambon, IndonesiaAugust 29, 1919 · 161 km E of this epicenter
- 6.7236 km WNW of Ambon, IndonesiaAugust 3, 1926 · 35 km E of this epicenter
- 6.6121 km NW of Ambon, IndonesiaJuly 29, 1942 · 169 km E 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 · 281 km away
2,460 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1965M7.6
Sanana Island
24 Jan 1965 · 25 km away
71 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1754M6.5
Ambon Island
18 Aug 1754 · 295 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1950M7.6
Seram
8 Oct 1950 · 288 km away
1 deathSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1859M7.3
Sulawesi
29 Jul 1859 · 295 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1841M6.0
Banda Sea
16 Dec 1841 · 228 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.