QuakeScout
Magnitude7.5

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia100y ago

M7.5 earthquake 273 km WSW of Tual, Indonesia

Friday, June 3, 1927, 07:12:07 UTC · 6.763°S, 130.561°E

A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck 273 km WSW of Tual, Indonesia on Friday, June 3, 1927, 07:12:07 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.

Magnitude
7.5
Major · 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

2.6 megatons of TNT

That is about 172 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 5,433 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

6 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

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 200 km

USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 9 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 · 235 km NW of this epicenter
  2. 7.0188 km SSE of Amahai, IndonesiaJune 9, 1920 · 232 km NW of this epicenter
  3. 6.9Banda SeaOctober 30, 1909 · 102 km W of this epicenter
  4. 6.8Banda SeaNovember 23, 1918 · 160 km W of this epicenter
  5. 6.7158 km SW of Tual, IndonesiaNovember 18, 1919 · 138 km E of this epicenter
  6. 6.7284 km ENE of Lospalos, Timor LesteMay 30, 1909 · 172 km SW of this epicenter
  7. 6.5290 km SSE of Amahai, IndonesiaMarch 23, 1921 · 132 km NW of this epicenter
  8. 6.5264 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaMay 5, 1915 · 48 km N 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 67 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1852M8.3

    Maluku: Bandanaira

    25 Nov 1852 · 191 km away · intensity IX

    60 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  2. 1763

    Bandaneira

    12 Sep 1763 · 105 km away · intensity X

    7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1710

    Bandaneira

    6 Mar 1710 · 259 km away · intensity IX

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  4. 1890

    Bandaneira

    23 Nov 1890 · 262 km away · intensity VII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  5. 1852M7.0

    Bandaneira

    24 Dec 1852 · 196 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  6. 1918M8.1

    Banda Sea

    18 Nov 1918 · 174 km away

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

Nearby trackers

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