QuakeScout
Magnitude6.8

Reviewed by USGSTimor Leste63y ago

M6.8 earthquake 250 km NNE of Lospalos, Timor Leste

Saturday, March 21, 1964, 03:42:19 UTC · 6.441°S, 127.892°E

A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck 250 km NNE of Lospalos, Timor Leste on Saturday, March 21, 1964, 03:42:19 UTC, at a depth of 357.8 km (deep). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M8.1 on November 4, 1963.

Magnitude
6.8
Strong · mw
Depth
358 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

215 kilotons of TNT

That is about 14 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 452 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

54 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

358 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 44 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.11963 Banda Sea EarthquakeNovember 4, 1963 · 198 km E of this epicenter
  2. 7.7Banda SeaNovember 2, 1950 · 149 km E of this epicenter
  3. 7.5273 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaJune 3, 1927 · 297 km E of this epicenter
  4. 7.3145 km NNE of Lospalos, Timor LesteAugust 30, 1917 · 106 km S of this epicenter
  5. 7.355 km S of Ambon, IndonesiaOctober 8, 1950 · 252 km N of this epicenter
  6. 7.258 km ENE of Lospalos, Timor LesteSeptember 29, 1905 · 210 km S of this epicenter
  7. 7.1196 km SSE of Ambon, IndonesiaJuly 4, 1914 · 195 km NE of this epicenter
  8. 7.1186 km NE of Lospalos, Timor LesteMay 15, 1962 · 107 km S of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 11 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 70 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1852M8.3

    Maluku: Bandanaira

    25 Nov 1852 · 244 km away · intensity IX

    60 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  2. 1763

    Bandaneira

    12 Sep 1763 · 238 km away · intensity X

    7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1711M7.0

    Banda Sea

    5 Sep 1711 · 298 km away

    2 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  4. 1950M7.6

    Seram

    8 Oct 1950 · 297 km away

    1 deathSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  5. 1841M6.0

    Banda Sea

    16 Dec 1841 · 275 km away · intensity VIII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  6. 1963M8.3

    Banda Sea

    4 Nov 1963 · 192 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)

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

Nearby trackers

Closest city pages