Reviewed by USGSTimor Leste91y ago
M6.4 earthquake 109 km N of Lospalos, Timor Leste
Thursday, February 27, 1936, 10:03:56 UTC · 7.535°S, 127.100°E
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck 109 km N of Lospalos, Timor Leste on Thursday, February 27, 1936, 10:03:56 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.9 on March 26, 1930.
- Magnitude
- 6.4
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 25 km
- Shallow
- 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
62 kilotons of TNT
That is about 4 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 130 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
39 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: shallow
25 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 13 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.3145 km NNE of Lospalos, Timor LesteAugust 30, 1917 · 61 km E of this epicenter
- 7.258 km ENE of Lospalos, Timor LesteSeptember 29, 1905 · 92 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.9Banda SeaOctober 30, 1909 · 290 km E of this epicenter
- 6.984 km N of Metinaro, Timor LesteMarch 26, 1930 · 146 km W of this epicenter
- 6.811 km WSW of Ainaro, Timor LesteMarch 23, 1908 · 249 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.8Banda SeaNovember 23, 1918 · 236 km E of this epicenter
- 6.7284 km ENE of Lospalos, Timor LesteMay 30, 1909 · 268 km E of this epicenter
- 6.3Banda SeaMay 19, 1920 · 249 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 3 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 250 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1896
Timor: Alor Island
18 Apr 1896 · 271 km away · intensity VIII
250 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1918M8.1
Banda Sea
18 Nov 1918 · 218 km away
- 1917M7.8
Banda Sea
30 Aug 1917 · 99 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.