Reviewed by USGSTimor Leste100y ago
M5.8 earthquake 116 km NNW of Pante Makasar, Timor Leste
Monday, February 13, 1928, 16:35:03 UTC · 8.295°S, 123.846°E
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck 116 km NNW of Pante Makasar, Timor Leste on Monday, February 13, 1928, 16:35:03 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on March 3, 1927.
- Magnitude
- 5.8
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 15 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
8 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 16 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
57 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
15 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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 7 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.0199 km SSW of Katabu, IndonesiaMarch 3, 1927 · 271 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.0194 km SE of Baubau, IndonesiaAugust 6, 1914 · 194 km N of this epicenter
- 6.811 km WSW of Ainaro, Timor LesteMarch 23, 1908 · 192 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.699 km NNW of Pante Makasar, Timor LesteMarch 28, 1923 · 21 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.5201 km SSE of Baubau, IndonesiaAugust 18, 1912 · 142 km N of this epicenter
- 6.571 km NW of Naisano Dua, IndonesiaOctober 16, 1918 · 102 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.3Banda SeaMay 19, 1920 · 257 km NE 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 · 100 km away · intensity VIII
250 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1814
Timor Island, Kupang, Kissar Island
1814 · 215 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1891M7.0
Timor Sea
5 Oct 1891 · 80 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.