Reviewed by USGSIndonesia67y ago
M6.5 earthquake 60 km WSW of Ambon, Indonesia
Tuesday, February 9, 1960, 23:55:56 UTC · 3.995°S, 127.731°E
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 60 km WSW of Ambon, Indonesia on Tuesday, February 9, 1960, 23:55:56 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.3 on October 8, 1950.
- Magnitude
- 6.5
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 35 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VI
- Strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
91 kilotons of TNT
That is about 6 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 191 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
54 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Molucca Sea and Banda Sea plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
35 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 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 39 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.355 km S of Ambon, IndonesiaOctober 8, 1950 · 60 km E of this epicenter
- 7.1124 km WNW of Ambon, IndonesiaMarch 1, 1948 · 108 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.1196 km SSE of Ambon, IndonesiaJuly 4, 1914 · 205 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1170 km WNW of Ambon, IndonesiaJune 9, 1938 · 144 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.0114 km NW of Ambon, IndonesiaAugust 29, 1919 · 114 km N of this epicenter
- 7.0188 km SSE of Amahai, IndonesiaJune 9, 1920 · 233 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.7236 km WNW of Ambon, IndonesiaAugust 3, 1926 · 214 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.6121 km NW of Ambon, IndonesiaJuly 29, 1942 · 132 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 28 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,527 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1899M7.8
Banda Sea
29 Sep 1899 · 140 km away
2,460 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1852M8.3
Maluku: Bandanaira
25 Nov 1852 · 264 km away · intensity IX
60 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1754M6.5
Ambon Island
18 Aug 1754 · 102 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1711M7.0
Banda Sea
5 Sep 1711 · 141 km away
2 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1950M7.6
Seram
8 Oct 1950 · 67 km away
1 deathSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1710
Bandaneira
6 Mar 1710 · 248 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.