Reviewed by USGSIndonesia11y ago
M4.3 earthquake 96 km SSE of Katabu, Indonesia
Friday, March 27, 2015, 02:14:26 UTC · 5.770°S, 122.758°E
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 96 km SSE of Katabu, Indonesia on Friday, March 27, 2015, 02:14:26 UTC, at a depth of 33.8 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.3
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 34 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Max intensity I
- 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
43 tons of TNT
That is about 1/354 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 11 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
153 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Molucca Sea and Banda Sea plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
34 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 50 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 247 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9169 km NNE of Maumere, IndonesiaJune 17, 1996 · 153 km S of this epicenter
- 7.5155 km E of Kendari, IndonesiaOctober 19, 2001 · 225 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0199 km SSW of Katabu, IndonesiaMarch 3, 1927 · 129 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.0194 km SE of Baubau, IndonesiaAugust 6, 1914 · 161 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.0150 km NNE of Maumere, IndonesiaFebruary 27, 2015 · 172 km S of this epicenter
- 7.0166 km NNW of Maubara, Timor LesteJune 22, 1966 · 260 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.9215 km NW of Maubara, Timor LesteOctober 18, 1964 · 200 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.9160 km NNE of Maumere, IndonesiaJune 7, 1991 · 161 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 5 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 15 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1982M5.9
Flores Island: Eastern
25 Dec 1982 · 295 km away
13 deaths$1 million damagetsunami
- 1961M6.5
Flores: Endeh
16 Mar 1961 · 283 km away · intensity VIII
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 2011M6.1
Sulawesi: Kendari
24 Apr 2011 · 132 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 2001M7.5
Banda Sea
19 Oct 2001 · 225 km away
- 1897M5.5
Kajuadi Island
15 Mar 1897 · 245 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.