Reviewed by USGS109y ago
M6.8 earthquake in Banda Sea
Saturday, November 23, 1918, 22:57:42 UTC · 6.794°S, 129.109°E
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck in Banda Sea on Saturday, November 23, 1918, 22:57:42 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.3 on August 30, 1917.
- Magnitude
- 6.8
- 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
201 kilotons of TNT
That is about 13 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 422 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
39 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 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 6 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.3145 km NNE of Lospalos, Timor LesteAugust 30, 1917 · 175 km W of this epicenter
- 7.258 km ENE of Lospalos, Timor LesteSeptember 29, 1905 · 245 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.1196 km SSE of Ambon, IndonesiaJuly 4, 1914 · 178 km N of this epicenter
- 6.9Banda SeaOctober 30, 1909 · 61 km E of this epicenter
- 6.7284 km ENE of Lospalos, Timor LesteMay 30, 1909 · 131 km S of this epicenter
- 6.5264 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaMay 5, 1915 · 159 km E 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:
- 1852M8.3
Maluku: Bandanaira
25 Nov 1852 · 186 km away · intensity IX
60 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1763
Bandaneira
12 Sep 1763 · 132 km away · intensity X
7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1710
Bandaneira
6 Mar 1710 · 267 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1890
Bandaneira
23 Nov 1890 · 270 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1852M7.0
Bandaneira
24 Dec 1852 · 252 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1918M8.1
Banda Sea
18 Nov 1918 · 26 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.