Reviewed by USGSIndonesia6y ago
M4.5 earthquake 284 km S of Ambon, Indonesia
Thursday, December 5, 2019, 11:06:37 UTC · 6.216°S, 128.676°E
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 284 km S of Ambon, Indonesia on Thursday, December 5, 2019, 11:06:37 UTC, at a depth of 303.2 km (deep). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.9 on December 4, 2019.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 303 km
- Deep
- 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
85 tons of TNT
That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.
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: deep
303 km
Deep earthquakes (over 300 km) happen deep inside subducting plates. They rarely cause damage, but can be felt faintly over very large distances.
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 1,581 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.11963 Banda Sea EarthquakeNovember 4, 1963 · 132 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.7Banda SeaNovember 2, 1950 · 88 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.6196 km S of Ambon, IndonesiaJanuary 27, 2006 · 102 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.5273 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaJune 3, 1927 · 217 km E of this epicenter
- 7.3145 km NNE of Lospalos, Timor LesteAugust 30, 1917 · 172 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.355 km S of Ambon, IndonesiaOctober 8, 1950 · 230 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3281 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaDecember 20, 1992 · 194 km E of this epicenter
- 7.3172 km NE of Lospalos, Timor LesteNovember 24, 1983 · 151 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 31 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 74 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1852M8.3
Maluku: Bandanaira
25 Nov 1852 · 160 km away · intensity IX
60 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1763
Bandaneira
12 Sep 1763 · 148 km away · intensity X
7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1711M7.0
Banda Sea
5 Sep 1711 · 249 km away
2 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 2019M5.0
Maluku: Ambon
12 Nov 2019 · 293 km away
2 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1950M7.6
Seram
8 Oct 1950 · 272 km away
1 deathSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 2019M5.0
Passo
10 Oct 2019 · 290 km away · intensity VII
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.