QuakeScout
Magnitude6.4

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia92y ago

M6.4 earthquake 9 km ESE of Ambon, Indonesia

Sunday, December 29, 1935, 23:37:23 UTC · 3.739°S, 128.254°E

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck 9 km ESE of Ambon, Indonesia on Sunday, December 29, 1935, 23:37:23 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.5 on March 26, 1932.

Magnitude
6.4
Strong · mw
Depth
25 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

67 kilotons of TNT

That is about 4 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 140 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

98 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

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

  1. 7.1196 km SSE of Ambon, IndonesiaJuly 4, 1914 · 189 km SE of this epicenter
  2. 7.0121 km ESE of Labuha, IndonesiaMay 1, 1904 · 296 km N of this epicenter
  3. 7.0114 km NW of Ambon, IndonesiaAugust 29, 1919 · 124 km NW of this epicenter
  4. 7.0188 km SSE of Amahai, IndonesiaJune 9, 1920 · 199 km SE of this epicenter
  5. 6.7236 km WNW of Ambon, IndonesiaAugust 3, 1926 · 245 km NW of this epicenter
  6. 6.5290 km SSE of Amahai, IndonesiaMarch 23, 1921 · 291 km SE of this epicenter
  7. 6.5232 km NNW of Amahai, IndonesiaJuly 6, 1913 · 263 km N of this epicenter
  8. 6.571 km SSE of Ambon, IndonesiaMarch 26, 1932 · 66 km S 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 2,526 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1899M7.8

    Banda Sea

    29 Sep 1899 · 87 km away

    2,460 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  2. 1852M8.3

    Maluku: Bandanaira

    25 Nov 1852 · 236 km away · intensity IX

    60 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  3. 1754M6.5

    Ambon Island

    18 Aug 1754 · 38 km away

    4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  4. 1711M7.0

    Banda Sea

    5 Sep 1711 · 88 km away

    2 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  5. 1710

    Bandaneira

    6 Mar 1710 · 203 km away · intensity IX

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  6. 1841M6.0

    Banda Sea

    16 Dec 1841 · 89 km away · intensity VIII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

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

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