Reviewed by USGSTimor Leste62y ago
M6.9 earthquake 215 km NW of Maubara, Timor Leste
Sunday, October 18, 1964, 12:32:26 UTC · 7.220°S, 123.832°E
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck 215 km NW of Maubara, Timor Leste on Sunday, October 18, 1964, 12:32:26 UTC, at a depth of 586.3 km (deep). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on February 14, 1952.
- Magnitude
- 6.9
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 586 km
- Deep
- 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
388 kilotons of TNT
That is about 26 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 813 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
62 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: deep
586 km
Deep earthquakes (over 300 km) happen deep inside subducting plates. They rarely cause damage, but can be felt faintly over very large distances.
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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 34 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.270 km SE of Maumere, IndonesiaOctober 20, 1938 · 232 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.077 km N of Baukau, Timor LesteFebruary 14, 1952 · 300 km E of this epicenter
- 7.0199 km SSW of Katabu, IndonesiaMarch 3, 1927 · 210 km W of this epicenter
- 7.0194 km SE of Baubau, IndonesiaAugust 6, 1914 · 76 km N of this epicenter
- 6.984 km N of Metinaro, Timor LesteMarch 26, 1930 · 225 km E of this epicenter
- 6.889 km NW of Pante Makasar, Timor LesteJune 25, 1953 · 148 km S of this epicenter
- 6.892 km NNW of Pante Makasar, Timor LesteJune 26, 1953 · 139 km S of this epicenter
- 6.8180 km N of Baukau, Timor LesteJuly 17, 1956 · 269 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 4 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 252 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1896
Timor: Alor Island
18 Apr 1896 · 153 km away · intensity VIII
250 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1961M6.5
Flores: Endeh
16 Mar 1961 · 229 km away · intensity VIII
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1944M7.5
Flores
22 Mar 1944 · 147 km away
- 1891M7.0
Timor Sea
5 Oct 1891 · 199 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.