M6.2 earthquake 233 km SE of Sofifi, Indonesia

Wednesday, April 22, 1925, 23:10:42 UTC · 1.002°S, 128.752°E

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 233 km SE of Sofifi, Indonesia on Wednesday, April 22, 1925, 23:10:42 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.4 on October 7, 1923.

Magnitude: 6.2; Strong · 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

26 kilotons of TNT

That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 55 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

139 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Birds Head and Banda Sea plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

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

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 17 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,498 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1899M7.8
Banda Sea
29 Sep 1899 · 224 km away
2,460 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1855
Maluku: Ternate Island
14 Jul 1855 · 257 km away · intensity IX
34 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
1754M6.5
Ambon Island
18 Aug 1754 · 279 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1840
Maluku: Ternate Island
14 Feb 1840 · 256 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1885M7.3
Buru I, Ambon I, Haruku I
30 Apr 1885 · 217 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1876M6.8
Buru Island, Ceram Sea
28 May 1876 · 278 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

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

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