Reviewed by USGSIndonesia108y ago
M7.0 earthquake 114 km NW of Ambon, Indonesia
Friday, August 29, 1919, 05:44:03 UTC · 3.028°S, 127.391°E
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 114 km NW of Ambon, Indonesia on Friday, August 29, 1919, 05:44:03 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on May 1, 1904.
- Magnitude
- 7.0
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 15 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
477 kilotons of TNT
That is about 32 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,000 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
16 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
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 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 2 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 18 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,466 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1899M7.8
Banda Sea
29 Sep 1899 · 123 km away
2,460 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1754M6.5
Ambon Island
18 Aug 1754 · 134 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1711M7.0
Banda Sea
5 Sep 1711 · 209 km away
2 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1841M6.0
Banda Sea
16 Dec 1841 · 109 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1802
Banda Sea
Aug 1802 · 117 km away · intensity X
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1815
Ambon Island
11 Apr 1815 · 135 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.